Never Calm
by YoungBoch
Summary: Basically what happens to the pilots after everything with NERV is over with. A romance-drama selection. A lot of OOC, and some AU concerning Rei. Split up into different 'seasons' with major plots, and there are currently four.
1. Start of Season 1: New Beginnings

**Never Calm**

A/N – Hey all, haven't been here in awhile, so I thought I'd submit again. Well, honestly, I'm doing this to hone my writing skills again. I haven't written anything longer than twenty pages since Nothing Will Ever Change That, and since I'll be taking a creative writing course this year in school, I better get back into the swing of this. So, instead of making a real story, I'm just going to make another Eva fic… mainly because I'm too lazy to develop characters. Well, hope you enjoy it. As always, this will be a romance/drama story.

Misato's Apartment – 1:00 PM – Sunday

As always, I was up by about six just out of habit of school. Asuka and Misato on the other hand, not so much. Misato has a reason; she came home last night at around four in the morning, but Asuka just enjoys sleeping in, even on school days. As smart as she may be, she can get extremely lazy at times. It's been roughly a year since the last angel appeared, and I was set to leave Misato's, but she pulled a few strings to let me stay. Asuka had a fit when she learned that she would be living with me for God only knows how long, but oddly enough, it wasn't like her normal tantrums; she got over it fairly quick.

Today was the first day of what the school district calls summer - even though it only lasts a month and a half, it's more than enough for me. There was one downside though… boredom. With the angels gone, we no longer had the need to go to NERV, let alone train. As much as I hate to say it, I kind of miss my old life… way more eventful. Even so, Misato was trying to get me, Asuka, and herself to go on a tropical vacation, which neither me or Asuka really wanted to do. Her reason was that she couldn't spend ten hours on a plane with me – my reason was the fact that I hated vacations. None the less, she'll end up dragging us along for the ride.

Last school year was… eventful, to say the least. About the time when the first semester ended, I summed up the courage to ask out Rei, and it turned out in my favor. When I first met her, I didn't even really see her as a person, more as a robot due to her 'personality'. For some reason though, when the angels died off and school started again, she opened up… a lot. She began talking more, actually made a few friends, and I saw her laugh for the first time with Asuka. One of her first friends, as fate would have it, turned out to be Asuka. How this happened no one will ever know, but it did. I was, of course, her second, and then I turned out to be her first close relationship. Since neither of us have close bonds with anyone, I think us dating was almost fate, as corny as that might sound. Outside from each other, we haven't gotten close enough to anyone where they would have a huge impact on our lives.

Surprisingly enough, Asuka was actually supportive of us… well, more of Rei. Asuka always said that she could do better than me, but she was happy for Rei none the less. I was just getting ready to head over to her apartment where we could have that rare moment alone. Outside of the occasional lunch together, we were almost always with either friends or at school, so we took whatever time we could to be alone. I still can't believe that we're still together. It's not that I don't care about her; it's that Asuka was right. I know for a fact that there are two other guys much higher up on the high school food chain than I am wanting her, and yet she still chose me. I begin to make my way to her place, taking in the semi-warm afternoon air.

Yesterday after school we went out to a fast food place – nothing special – to celebrate the end of the year. As we were walking to Misato's, she actually told me that she loved me. It came out of nowhere too; it was one of those silent, yet non-awkward moments when she just came out and said it. Of course, she had a deep blush on, but still kept a small smile on. Of course, I said it back, and we walked the rest of the way hand-in-hand. That is going to be something I'll remember for the rest of my life, because not a moment of it was a lie. Sure, it took us that long to finally say it, but at least it's out. I ring her doorbell, finally at her house, and get no reply for a few seconds.

"Hey Shinji," I jump out of my skin at her voice above be. I look up to see her sitting on the roof with her legs swinging off the edge, smiling down at me, "Where have you been? You're late." Even though her personality has changed drastically since the beginning of last year, I can still hear some of her old habits of the monotone voice and complete proper language skills.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I guess I lost track of time… what are you doing up there?" she hops down, landing in front of me, and opens her door.

"I was bored, so I thought that I might wait up there for you… and there's a rat in my shower, so I didn't want to stay in there…" she lets out a nervous chuckle, and I just go into the bathroom and grab the 'rat' by the tail. It was just a small white mouse! In fact, it looked almost as if it was a store bought pet! Setting it down outside, we both go back into her main room. She was still living in the same apartment, but she has fixed it up a little since the beginning. The walls were a calming green now, and she actually had some furniture outside of her bed. Hell, even her clothing style has changed. Instead of always wearing her school uniform, she has gotten some pretty average clothes. Right now she was wearing a pair of tight, faded jeans with a black tank-top which she would refer to as 'beaters'.

"Better now?" we both sit down in the over-sized chair, which could easily fit another person.

"Yes, much," she gives me a sweet smile and pecks me on the cheek. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and she lays her head on my chest. By this point we've got almost a routine going; we always end up like this in the chair.

"So, what do you want to do? You know that I'll be gone for awhile after tomorrow, might as well do something special today," Misato said that we'd probably be leaving the day after tomorrow, and Rei was far from happy that she couldn't go. Gendo wouldn't allow it though, seeing as he knew of our relationship.

"I was thinking about going to the lake actually. It's about five minutes from here." I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Rei, you don't even have a bathing suit, what are we gonna do there?" she sits up and looks at me with a smirk.

"And how would you know that? I may have just gotten one recently, you never know," I raise an eyebrow, "Okay, I don't… but we can still just lay there like we used to do. We have not gone there in quite awhile," we both stand up, even though we've barely been sitting down for a few seconds.

"True. Well, you wanna head out?" before I even finished the sentence, she was already walking to the door.

"Have you ever known me to stall on things?" she's got a point…

---

Lake

This lake was man made, and there were even filters at the bottom of it to keep the water nice and clear. You could easily see fifty feet down, which was impressive seeing as a lot of people use this as a giant trash can. There were schools of fish here and there, but not enough to actually fish, so the populations stayed pretty consistent. We were at a pretty secluded area of the shoreline, making it so no one could disturb us. When we got here, Rei let go of my hand and told me to wait for her while she went to get something. She ran off into the lightly forested area, and after awhile, I started walking to the shore, basically killing time. Just as I was becoming impatient, I hear her walking back to me. I turn to see her holding what looked like a stereo.

"I put this back here a little while ago so we could have some music next time we came," she switched on the battery powered device and a soothing jazz station came on. This may not have been my favorite kind of music, but it was hers, so I tend to deal with it.

"Nice job!" I begin to sit down, but she grabs my hand, signaling me to stay standing.

"Not yet. Don't you want to have some fun first?" she had a certain look in her eye that forced me to smile.

"Sure… what do you have in mind?" without saying a word, she lets go of my hand and begins to take off her shirt, "Whoa! Rei, what re you doing?!" she threw the shirt on the ground to reveal a blue bikini top, "… that's not funny…" she literally burst into laugher, "You told me that you didn't have one!"

"Well I wanted it to be a surprise… that and I wanted to see the look on your face!" While I have to admit it was slightly funny, I had trouble staying calm. To be honest, this was the first time I've seen this much of her, and it was a little nerve-rattling, "Come on, we can swim a little. You can just go in your jeans," she took off her pants and put them with her shirt. Somehow, I managed to keep myself from staring and followed her to the water while taking off my shirt. Soon enough, we were up to our necks in water, "A little cold…"

"Yeah, it'll get better. So, how well can you hold your breath?" she wraps her arms around herself, trying to keep warm.

"I can stay under water for about two minutes swimming, and about three if I hold still," wow… and here I thought I'd be the better one… "Oh yeah! I wanted to show you something. I found this thing last time I was here without you. Follow me," without another word, she takes a deep breath and dives under. I follow quickly after her, not wanting to fall behind.

As I said before, the water was amazingly clear. It was as if this entire lake was bottled water. Rei, who obviously swims often, was able to easily speed ahead of me. She was guiding me to the bottom of the lake in a more rocky area, which even had a few fake coral reefs here and there. A large hill comes into view, and she disappears behind it. I follow her, and struggling with air, she guides me into a small cave with a bubble of air at the top. With both of us breathing hard, she wipes the hair out of her eyes.

"Whoa… how'd… you find this?" I managed to speak in-between breaths.

"I was looking around this area and just stumbled on it. I think it's an old filter, because the oxygen levels don't really seem to go down, no matter how long I'm in here," there was even a small light at the top, embedded in the rock. We were able to stand up so the water in at upper-chest level, making this quite a relaxing spot. The cave was just big enough for two people, and out faces were barely five inches apart.

"Nice find…" I put my hands on her semi-bare hips as I spoke with a smile. She returns the smile and puts her arms around my torso. Soon enough, we were embraced in a tight kiss.

Up to this point, we have taken our relationship extremely slowly compared to other high school couples. Hell, we didn't even start holding hands until our third date, and we first kissed at the third quarter. And even more recently we've been showing some public affection, which felt odd for both of us, but we got used to it. Up to today we haven't even REALLY kissed, it's always been a peck… but that changed in a hurry. I wasn't even the one to bring it to the next level, she was – which is odd, because I've always been the one to initiate new things. Instead of following what most children of our generation do and try to swallow each other's faces, it was a slow, soft kiss. Neither of us knew exactly what we were doing, but it was romantic none the less. The dim light, close quarters, and above all, wet skin, made this moment perfect. What seemed like an eternity later, we both pulled back.

"Shinji…" our bodies couldn't have possibly been closer, we were basically glued together, "I love you…"

"I love you too," we peck each other's lips one last time before embracing in a tight hug.

"How long are you going to be gone again?"

"About a month… I'm sorry you can't go," I really was. Even though there's nothing I could do to change it, the fact is that I'm going without her.

"It's not your fault," I sit down on a nearby rock, and she takes her own seat on my lap, resting her head on my shoulder, "Just call me whenever you can, okay?" This is going to be the first time we're apart for more than a day, and she's not taking it well at all. I think a major portion of her grief is the fact that Asuka and I are sharing a room. Sure, Misato will be in there too – Gendo's too cheap to allow three rooms – but that doesn't change the fact that I'll be sleeping in the same room as another girl.

"I promise," after a few seconds, I speak up again, "Do you not want me to go? I can probably-" she puts her finger on my lips.

"No, I want you to go have fun. Just don't forget about me."

"I couldn't if I tried…" we both turn our heads and once again give a deep kiss. She pulls back after about thirty seconds and blushes deeply, letting out a soft chuckle, "What's up?" I return the smile.

"Sorry but… look at us," she once again laughs a little, "We're getting so upset over one month, its ridiculous!"

"Well yeah, but I'm going to miss you. I mean, our summer is short as it is, and I'm going to be spending so much time away from you, I hate it," I pull a few locks of hair out of her face. Since we started dating, she began to grow out her hair a little more than usual. Instead of having that geometrical hair cut, her hair is now down to her upper back, and right now, it's everywhere.

"It's okay, we can spend all the time we want together when you get back, alright? For now, let's just leave it alone. We're here to relax, not to count down the minutes. Speaking of minutes… how long have we been here?"

"I have no idea. It feels like forever," we smile at one another, "I still can't believe you pulled that trick on me."

"As if you don't like it," she send a wink my way, and I just knew that I was blushing, "You'd be surprised how hard it is to find one that would actually fit me," she's got a point there; her body type is extremely slender. Not that anorexic type of body, just really well toned… I'm guessing from all the training we used to do.

"What I'm surprised at is that you'd wear it. The least I've seen you in is a tank-top and shorts, let alone THIS," she once again lets out a soft chuckle as she changes positions of my lap so her back is resting on my chest. We were basically cheek to cheek, which was much more comfortable that before. We stay like this, completely silent, for a good half hour. By now both of our eyes are closed and we've drifted to half-sleep. Just as I was about to fall asleep, she breaks the silence.

"Shinji…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really love me, or did you just say it because I did?" I can see where she got that…

"Of course I do," I wrap my arms around her waist, "Why do you ask that?"

"Well… because I'm a little worried about you sleeping in the same room with Asuka… I know that you used to like her, and-" I cut her off before she could finish.

"Rei, don't even say that. You know that I wouldn't do anything to betray your trust. I love YOU, not Asuka. She's nothing more than a roommate to me. I would never do anything to hurt you, don't even think like that," that actually hurt to know she thinks I would do something like that…

"I know, but still…" We were pretty quiet the rest of the day. I went home early, slightly angry, and spent the rest of the night in as much solitude as I could. Doesn't she trust me? Have I done something that would make her think I would cheat? I don't even know…

---

Two Days Later – Airport – 2:00 AM

"Jeez you two, get a room," of course, Asuka had to make a smart ass remark at me and Rei kissing. This is going to be the last time I'll see her in a long time, I have to make an impression before I leave! With a small chuckle, Rei pulls back and hugs me.

"I'll miss you. Have fun, okay?"

"As much as I can… love you," after returning the gesture, we let go of each other. Misato calls me and Asuka over to the docking bay, and I look at Rei for the last time… at least until the end of the summer. After walking onto the plane, the sudden smell of bad air fresheners and airplane pillows fills my lungs.

"Okay, listen up Third; you will not talk to me, you will not sit next to me, you will not acknowledge me, and you will not talk to me."

"You said no talking twice…"

"I know, I'm making that one clear. I only came on this stupid trip because I could use a good tan. With any luck, I'll have a good time, but as long as you're around that chance is next to zero. So just keep your distance and I'll keep mine, got it?" she acts as if I WANT to be near her.

"Whatever you say…" the plane was pretty small, and no matter where I sat I was close to Asuka. It was a simple twenty-seat plane, and us three were the only ones on it. From what I gathered from Misato, we're going to a small island owned by NERV… lots of fun there… cheap bastards…

---

Seven Hours Later

I was woken up by the sudden jarring of the plane. I look out my window to see dark clouds, lightning and rain everywhere. Some vacation this is…

"Okay everyone, we're going to be hitting some turbulence here pretty soon, so I have to ask all of you to put on your seatbelts and strap down any loose items you may have. We should be landing in about two hours, so just hold tight," the plane was so small he didn't even have to use the intercom… but he did anyway. Of course, Misato was still asleep, but Asuka was far from sleeping, and actually looking a little green.

"God I hate planes…" I hear her mutter under her breath, but I just ignore it and lay my head back down.

There's no way I'll be getting to sleep any time soon, but I could at least relax. About an hour passes before I'm once again scared out of my mind, but it wasn't a simple jar this time. A blinding light fills the cabin as an enormous sound fills the air. It sounded as if a million guns went off at the same time. The plane began to tilt back and forth, jarring even a few seats loose. When my senses recovered, I looked out my window to see one of the propeller engines on fire. I couldn't even move, I just stared blankly at the fire, now reaching my window.

"Oh my God!" I hear Asuka scream, but I still couldn't move. I hear the captain speaking on the radio wildly, but I don't hear any responses. We were descending so quickly that it felt like a roller coaster… but it wasn't. I knew very well what was happening, but I knew on the outside, I looked extremely calm. My mind was racing on all possible things at once. Do they even know we're going down? Will we end up on the long list of mysterious deaths, no one exactly sure where we went? Above all… Rei… I was certain that I was never going to see her again… feeling my eyes fill with tears, I just lay my head back onto the seat and wait for the inevitable.

A/N – Well, there you have it. No, this isn't a one-shot, so come back later (possibly tonight) and check out the next chapter. You all know the drill by now; keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – Okay, if you've read any of my other stories, you've seen that Frost always proof-read them. Well, we kind of lost touch, so I need a new proof-reader. I would prefer them to be in the same time zone as me (I live in Nevada), but beggars can't be choosers. So, if you're interested in the job, feel free message me. See you all soon!


	2. Stowaway

Chapter 2 – Stowaway

Somewhere In The Pacific – 10:00 AM

When we hit the water, the cabin was almost immediately filled. My eyes jet open, and my body reacts instinctively. I was assuming that I was going to die on impact, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. I was completely alright; the worse it did to me was give me a heavy jar. I undo my seatbelt and swim over to Asuka, who was still screaming under the water, unable to get out. I have no idea how, but I was able to simple pull the two pieces of heavy fabric away from each other. I grab Asuka and bring her up to the small air pocket at the tail of the plane.

"Take a deep breath!" she did was she was told and I guided her out of the plane. The sheer force of impact blew out the cockpit's windshield. The captain was just sitting there, blood pouring from his forehead; he apparently hit his head on the controls. For some reason, I saved Asuka and not Misato… I knew that she was passed out from drinking, so she wouldn't feel any pain… Asuka on the other hand was completely conscious. We eventually get to the surface only to find ourselves in the worst storm I've ever seen. The huge waves made it impossible to stay afloat. Asuka would let out heavy coughs every now and then from the water; she was doing much worse than me… I put her on my back to keep her afloat, but I wasn't sure how long I could keep this up. Eventually I come across some luggage that fell out of the plane and grab onto that, but that provided close to zero support.

Thankfully, the waves died down quite a bit, but the storm was still going full force. In fact, I was actually hoping for the winds to keep up, that way at least we have a chance of moving to a nearby island. The plane has long gone under the water, but any debris that fell off stayed with me and Asuka, following our path. I continue to hear coughing, but with the rain and thunder so loud, I assumed it was Asuka… either that or I'm hearing things.

"Asuka! Are you awake?" I had to scream at the top of my lungs, even though she was right next to me. I felt her nod, "Don't pass out on me! I can't carry dead weight!" probably not the best analogy to use, but neither of us really caught it at the time. I somehow hear my name above all the noise, but it wasn't Asuka. Did Misato make it out? I look around and see nothing, even though it was damn near black with all the clouds. I hear my name again, this time a little louder; it sounded as if it was right in front of me. Suddenly, I feel someone grab my shirt and pull me onto a rubber raft. Asuka fell off my back, but I was just too weak to get her. I was too exhausted… I couldn't stay awake…

---

"Shinji… please wake up…" I come out of blackness to feel a small weight on my shoulder. It sounded like a girl crying… Asuka? No, it wasn't high-pitched enough… but hell, my ears are still recovering from all the noise. "Please…" I open my eyes only to be blinded by the light. I slam them shut and let out a small grunt, "Shinji!" I was suddenly propped up by someone, "Thank God!"

"Misato…?" I slowly open my eyes to see a still crying blue-haired girl, "Rei?!" she lunges forward and embraces me in a tight hug.

"I was so scared you were gone…" she cries into my shoulder harder than before. Finally gaining my bearings, I look around to see nothing but sky and ocean… and of course the raft I was in. I pull her back and look into her red eyes.

"What are you doing here?!" I had my hands on her shoulders, grabbing them tight.

"I… just wanted to come… so I snuck on… I'm sorry…" she averts her stare from me and looks down. Realizing that I was yelling at her, I take her into a hard hug.

"Don't apologize, you saved me… are you alright?" she nodded her head and let out a small sniffle. We stayed like this for a good five minutes before something popped into my head, "Asuka!"

"She's alright, I got her aboard. Misato's here too, but neither of them have woken up yet," I look behind me to see both of them lying down, obviously unconscious, "Shinji… we've out here for almost a day now. You've been asleep this whole time… I'm scared…" I stand up as well as I could and take a look around, hoping to see some kind of land. Of course, nothing was in sight. I look down at Rei to see her in a white shirt and shorts. The shirt had been drenched to the point where I could see she was wearing the bikini under her clothes. Her legs had a few bruises on them, and her right hand was wrapped in a black cloth.

"What happened to your hand?" my voice was monotone and oddly dark, but I couldn't help it.

"I cut myself trying to get this raft out. I'm fine though… what are we going to do Shinji? We don't have any food or water, and there's no land in sight anywhere… I don't want to die here…" she once again begins to cry into her hands. I lean down and put my hands on her shoulders.

"We'll be alright Rei, just hold on. We're in the ocean, I'm sure we can catch something… listen, I want you to stay here. I'll be right back," I jump off the raft and float next to it, "I'm going to see if I can find some reefs," before she could say anything, I went under. Thankfully, I was right; after swimming deeper, I found myself surrounded by colorful stones everywhere. I knew that where there were reefs, there were fish. I swim back to the surface and hold onto the raft for support.

"Are you insane?! You don't know that we aren't surrounded by sharks! I was bleeding Shinji! They could-" I cut her off.

"Just give me the luggage. Take out everything, I just want the bag," looking at me like I was crazy – which at this point I probably was – she did as I said. After getting what I wanted, I dive back under with the suitcase open, heading for the reefs. I quickly find a dark cave and press the open side of the suitcase against it. Once I was ready, I hit the rock as hard as I could with the palm of my hand, sending hundreds of small fish swimming out of the cave. A few hit the inside of the case and I quickly closed it. Running out of air, I hurried back to the surface, "Here take this," Rei struggled to get the suitcase back on board, and then helped me back in.

"Don't you ever do that again! I'm serious Shinji!" without a word, I open up the suitcase to reveal about ten small fish and one medium sized blue-grey fish, making the bag shake with all the movement, "I don't care about the damn fish, I care about you! You could have been hurt!"

"Rei… we're going to have to survive out here, and that means taking chances," I try and stay calm, "Until help comes – which could be weeks – we'll have to fend for ourselves. Now, we have to make this last awhile, because we're almost out of the reef and I doubt we'll be coming across another one," my voice was hoarse and dark, it didn't even sound like my own. I zip up the suitcase so the fish wouldn't jump out. Thankfully the inside was lined with plastic, so the water was staying inside of it.

Once again, I began to work on something without informing Rei. I took the damp clothes and put them over Asuka's and Misato's heads. One thing that came to mind is that people lose a lot of water just from breathing, and a way to slow this down was to basically cover your face with cloth.

"Why are you so quiet?" because I knew chances are we were going to die out here… but I didn't tell her that.

"I just have a headache, sorry," how are you supposed to talk with someone like this? We can't talk about anything but what might happen to us. It's not like we can keep our spirits up when we can barely do the same with our heads, "Listen, for now, lets just try and get some sleep," the raft was pretty large, so we could easily lay down, even with four people. We lay next to each other, and with her in front of me, I hold her close, "We're going to be alright…" with that, I threw a shirt over our heads and tried to relax.

---

Twilight

I wake up to the sound of Rei crying and quivering in my arms. Without a word, I pull her a little closer to me. Her semi-long hair completely covered my face, making it impossible for me to see anything. I take off the shirt covering us and turn her around.

"Sorry… it's just… I'm so scared… I don't want to die like this…"

"You're not going to die and neither am I; we're going to be fine. We were only an hour away from the island when we crashed, and I know that there is a chain of small islands near us. We'll eventually hit one of them, we have to," the sky was so beautiful, like something out of a movie… but it was only possible because of where we were…

"I hope so…" we both sit up and lean against the curve of the raft, holding each other tight, "Look at the sun," it was just barely leaving sight. If you looked close enough, you could actually see it inching towards the horizon. Suddenly, a small green dot replaced the curve of the sun, "Wow… it's beautiful…"

"What is it?" my hopes of it being a plane were soon dashed.

"It's called a green flash, I've only read about it," by the time she finished it was gone, "Yeah, exactly what they described. It's caused when the light bends to the curve of the earth, and since higher frequency light, green and blue, curves more than low frequency light, red and orange, only the green and blue light waves make it to us while the red and orange are just lost," I simply stare at her, "What?"

"You really were bored before you opened up, weren't you?" I finally see her smile again.

"Yeah, I used to read a lot," the sky was now completely dark, and if you just stared at the sky, you could see stars starting to flicker on, as if someone was switching them on, "I'm sure you have some useless information in there somewhere," I thought for a few seconds before replying.

"Dog's can't look up… and the gun at the Winchester is real…" she just looked at me as if I was insane.

---

A Few Hours Later

Rei has long since fallen asleep on my shoulder, and the humidity finally got to me, causing me to take off my shirt. I knew that it was a bad idea to have my skin exposed due to water loss, but I'll loose a hell of a lot more by sweating. Asuka and Misato still haven't woken up, and I was beginning to worry. My skin on my face has become so dry that it feels like even a smirk could crack the skin. Every now and then I take a handful of saltwater and rub it on my face for some temporary relief, even though I knew it was just making my skin drier in the long run.

The constant up and down motion of the boat had engraved itself onto my brain, making me feel as if I was standing completely still… it was quite the motion sickness feeling. I saw everything moving, but it didn't feel as if anything was. I eventually found that rocking my head in sync with the waves helped a little, but there was still no getting around it. The ocean was slightly illuminated by the stars and almost blinding moon.

I have never seen stars like this in my life, not even in books. I've lived in large cities all my life – I often refer to myself as a city boy – so the sight of even a couple stars in the sky was quite amazing. Out here though, with zero electricity or even candle light, absolutely every star was visible. After awhile of staring up, I started calling myself childish for saying they were stars. I knew from my studies that a good majority of them are planets, or even suns, millions of light years away… for all I know, I could be staring at a dead hunk of rock that just hasn't shown itself as 'gone' to earth yet. Eventually, to keep myself from boredom, I thought about what I have learned on this subject; how moving towards another star would make it appear to move in fast forward, how exactly suns stay alive for millions of years by nuclear fission… and how little I actually knew. Rei was the one that taught me most of what I knew about science, not actual teachers.

Rei really was one of a kind… she was an odd looking girl, I admit that, but not in a bad way. No matter how long she would stay out in the sun her skin always stay the exact same shade, causing her to look almost albino. Her eyes were such a light shade of brown that they almost looked like a dark red, which, to me, was extremely appealing, but I couldn't say why. Unlike most Japanese girls, her eyes were actually very full, making her face light up as if she were a painting. That's exactly what I saw her as at times; a painting. She had such unique features that it was almost unreal. On top of looks, she had a brain that could match a computer… hell, it HAS matched a computer once before. She's beaten the MAGI at chess, which makes her quite the oddity. She reads Stephen Hawking's books for fun, and actually almost cried when he died – at least, that's what Ritsuko claims.

My eyes eventually drift over to Asuka's seemingly lifeless body, but I did see her chest slightly rising and falling, so I knew she wasn't dead. While I would never tell Rei this, I did find Asuka more attractive physically… but that was more of a puberty thing. I only think she's attractive as she is because of her cup size, and I can't really help that. I felt bad for thinking this way, but of course it'll cross my mind every now and again. But, and this isn't me lying to myself, Rei did have a better looking face. See, the big difference between the two girls is that Asuka is hot, Rei is beautiful… and I would choose beautiful over hot any day. And you know what the biggest problem with Asuka is? She KNOWS that boys are attracted to her, and I think that she's become overly confident with her body. Rei doesn't know – and doesn't care – how beautiful she is, and because of this, she is extremely modest. Whenever I would tell her how she looked, she would just blush and change the subject.

Drifting away from Asuka, my eyes land on Misato. She was facing away from me, unlike Asuka, so I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. I like to imagine that she was though… Misato has been amazing to me and Asuka, and now that I think about it, we treat her horribly. She only wanted to go on this vacation to make us happy, and all we did was bitch about it. She tries her best to do everything for us. I mean sure, she's not exactly the best role-model, but she is basically all me and Asuka have. I can't imagine what we'll do if she dies…

"Mmmmm…" Rei nuzzles in a little closer to me, and I hold her tighter. Now that the sun has gone down, it's pretty damn cold. Every now and again Rei would let out a small shiver. I'm doing all I can to keep her spirits up, but that is proving to be impossible. I feel so defenseless right now… the only person in the world that I love is in pain, and I can't do anything about it, "Shinji… I'm cold…" her voice was barely above a whisper, but I heard her extremely clear.

"Hold on, there's a blanket around here somewhere…" I eventually come across the small piece of cloth that some would call a blanket. It was barely big enough to cover her torso, but it'll have to do. I cover her up, and along with the blanket, I hold her closer, trying to share body heat.

"Thanks… try and get some sleep Shinji, you need it," I didn't answer, not really wanting a conversation. Soon enough, she was asleep again. Thankfully, so was I… as impossible as I thought it was.

---

About 10:00 AM

"Shinji! Wake up! Shinji!" I was quickly brought out of my deep sleep by Rei screaming. At first I thought she was hurt or something was wrong, but her voice wasn't terrified enough… it actually sounded… happy? I see her pointing to a small hunk of green towards the horizon, "Please don't tell me I'm seeing things!"

"No… I don't think so!" all we did for a good five minutes is laugh, simply out of being so happy. Thankfully, the currents were taking us towards the island, and in about two hours, we were within walking distance of it. We drag the raft with Asuka and Misato still in it onto the shore and fall back onto the sand.

"I can't believe it… I really can't believe it…"

"Hey Rei, listen, I want you to stay here with Asuka and Misato. I'm going to see if I can find any food," sure, we had the fish, but those will only last so long.

"Okay, but hurry, I don't like to be alone," I peck her on the lips and walk off. Not even twenty steps into the heavily forested area I come across a banana tree absolutely full of the fruit. Knowing that if there's one of these, there's more, I decide to head back. I was only gone for a couple minutes, but in the time Rei started to drag Asuka into the shade, but I thought it was odd she left Misato behind.

"Hey, I'm back," Rei looks up at me with teary eyes.

"Misato… she's gone…" I felt my stomach sink to my feet, "I'm so sorry Shinji… but at least Asuka is okay…" she's got a point… as much as Asuka ridicules me, I think she'll be easier to deal with than Misato. I hate thinking that way, but I just couldn't think about Misato's death right now. Rei needs me to be strong… I don't have a choice.

"It's okay… she didn't go through any pain… are you hungry?" I tried to hide my pain and change the subject.

"Yeah, I am, you?" she wipes away her tears and gets up.

"You like sushi?"

---

Three Hours Later

"That big one was nasty… but that little blue one was amazing!" sure, it may have been irresponsible to eat all the fish, but they were good! And hey, I did let Rei have her fill before I ate, so at least I was semi-right!

"Yeah… seriously Rei, the way you eat, I don't know how you stay the same weight!" she could eat nothing but fast food for a year and gain nothing but two pounds.

"Uhhhhh… my head… what the fuck happened?" we both whip our heads around to see Asuka propped up on one elbow holding her head, "Where am I?"

"Asuka!" Rei damn near tackles Asuka, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Okay? What happened?" her eyes widen as she remembers the incident, "Where… are we…?"

"We don't know, but we're okay. There's plenty of food on this island and I'm sure the pilot got a distress signal out. We'll probably be out of here soon enough," Asuka still had a confused look on her face.

"And… why are you here?"

"Oh… yeah… about that… well, I wanted to come, so I just kind of hid on the plane… good thing too, huh?" yeah, she was the one that pulled us out of the water. If it wasn't for her, we'd both be dead right now.

"Yeah…" this is the first time that I've seen Asuka speechless! "So, you guys got anything to eat? I'm starving," without a word, I head off to where I saw the tree and knock down a bundle with a rock. Asuka immediately took one off and began to eat it.

"You're welcome," with a sarcastic tone, I sit in the shade away from the two. I'm sorry, but I can't be near Asuka, even if it is with Rei.

A/N –Hope you all are enjoying this so far, I know I'm enjoying writing it. Well, how do you think the three will get along? Sure, Rei and Shinji are fine, but what about Shinji and Asuka? How long will they last before food runs out? What about water? Find out in the next chapter, Fight; until then, keep on keepin' on!


	3. Fight

Chapter 3: Fight

A/N – I forgot to say this in the last chapter. Did you all catch the Shaun Of The Dead reference? If you've seen the movie and didn't catch it, you really need to go back and look.

Beach – About 3:00 PM

"Asuka, you know, Shinji did save your life. He was swimming with you on his back," I hear Rei speaking with Asuka, but I couldn't care less. I was over near the only supplies we have, trying to find a way to make water. I saw this technique on a TV show not too long ago… good thing I was paying attention. It's pretty simple, just using evaporation to collect fresh water. I used a sharp shell I found to cut out the plastic lining in the suitcase, and put it aside for now. I got a few things that obviously contained water: leaves, banana peels, our wet clothes, and put them in the suitcase. I found a coconut tree and split it down the middle, making a makeshift cup. I gave the milk to Rei and Asuka, I never cared for the taste of it. I put the 'cup' in the middle of the suitcase and then the plastic over everything else, which was supported by the walls of the bag. I then placed a small rock on the middle of the plastic, right over the cup. The concept was simple really; water evaporates, hits the plastic, rolls down to the center and into the cup. In a few hours, the coconut would be full of fresh water.

"Whatever Rei, I just want to get out of here," Asuka got up and headed into the forest, probably wanting to be alone.

"Don't worry about her Shinji, she's just as scared as we are," she sits next to me and looks down at what I made, "What is this?"

"Its something we can use to get water… listen Rei, I doubt the pilot got a distress call out, I heard what he was doing. We're going to have to do something…"

"Well, there's nothing we can do but wait."

"No… I could take the raft and see if I come across another island with people on it. If I'm able to find someone, I could get help and-" Rei gets an annoyed look on her face and stands up.

"Shinji, this is really starting to get annoying. I'm not going to let you go out there by yourself! We're in this as a group, so stop trying to take on everything by yourself. If we're going to survive this, we'll have to work together," while she was right, I don't want to put her in danger.

"But if we just wait around her they will never find us! I'm not just going to wait here until we die!" we both stood up, staring each other down, "Misato's already gone, I'm not going to let anyone else die!"

"Will you stop being so damn shelfish?!" Rei's never cursed before… "If you want to get on that raft and leave me, then go ahead!" she storms off into the forest, leaving me alone. I just stood there, amazed at what just happened. I've never seen Rei mad, let alone mad at ME… with a deep sigh, I took my place under some shade and tried to relax… as useless as that may be. I hear Asuka and Rei talking to each other, and eventually I hear one of them crying, but I couldn't tell who… I'm guessing Rei. She was right though… I was going a little far with the whole 'rescue' thing. After about an hour, Rei lies next to me without a word. We didn't even acknowledge each other until I gather the courage grab her hand.

"I'm sorry for acting like that…" she laces our fingers together.

"No, you were right, sorry," we turn our heads and look at each other, sharing a small smile.

---

Night

By now, Asuka has once again fallen asleep. She was using the raft as a kind of refuge, mainly to stay away from me. We buried Misato deep in the forest; I couldn't bear to see her anymore. I'm guessing it was about two in the morning, but I really had no idea. Ever since I got dark Rei and I have been talking. Thankfully is wasn't really on our situation; we would talk about home, places in Japan we like, places we'd like to go, and, more currently, each other.

"You know, I still can't believe you started that kiss back at the lake. It wasn't like you at all," she just chuckles a little.

"Yeah, well, it felt like the right moment. When we get back, that's the first place I want to go, no matter what," it felt nice to hear 'when', and not 'if'. Not even a day ago Rei was ready to give up, and now she's already making plans for when we get back.

"Yeah? Well, I'm sure there's a place like that around here somewhere," I wrap my arm around her bare shoulders. Due to the heat, all of us have changed into our swimwear, even Asuka. I thought that it was a little odd for her to do that, seeing as I was here. Not that I was looking, but in her mind I always am.

Without saying a word, she leans up on her elbow and kisses me like before, eventually letting her whole body rest on mine. I don't know if it was the beach, the fact that we were scared, or just the moment, but we let ourselves go a little that night. We didn't sleep together, not even close, but we did go further than we would have normally. A wandering hand here, a remark there, nothing that would get us into any real trouble… that is, if we were in the real world; I think we handled ourselves pretty well seeing as no one was there to stop us. It ended with her falling asleep on top of me, her head resting on my chest. Like I said, nothing REALLY happened… not to say we didn't have to make sure we were decent though…

---

Morning

"Jesus you two, every time I turn around you end up on top of each other," I feel a light kick from Asuka, brining me and Rei out of our moment in heaven, "Come on, get up, you have to see this," oddly enough, her voice was cheerful.

"Mmmm… a few more minutes…" Rei laid her head back down on my chest and got comfortable again.

"Yeah, it's too early," well, I wasn't lying. The sun has barely broken the horizon. Feeling a little awkward around Asuka, I take my arm off of Rei's back and simply lay it on my side… it felt weird…

"No, get up now!" with both of us knowing we'll never get back to sleep with her around, we got up… or rather, Rei got up and Asuka kicked me awake, "Come on, follow me," eyes still half closed, Rei and I did as we were told, still hating the sunlight. I loved the nights here as much as I hate to say it; the days were so damn hot that it was always a relief to have cool air hitting your face. And, just as it was getting too cold to bear, the sun comes up, so it's not like we could die from cold alone. Asuka eventually leads us into the forest, on a twenty minute uphill hike I may add, and she abruptly comes to a stop, "Look over there," with her arm pointed outwards, my jaw dropped. There was actually a waterfall – only about fifty feet – and a large pool of water. A stream formed in the complete opposite direction of where we were staying.

"Is it fresh water?" of course, that's the first thing out of Rei's mouth. Even if it isn't, I'm sure they'll be plenty of fish in there to catch.

"Yep! See? I knew I could do better than one cup a day," instead of confronting her about the smartass comment, I just ignore it. We make our way to the base of the waterfall and drench ourselves in the oddly cold water. It was deep enough to swim in, and that's basically what we did. We had to get all the salt water off of our skin; it was driving all of us insane.

"Hey Shinji? Mind going out for a few minutes? We need to wash off our clothes," trying to avoid a remark from Asuka, I simply do as I was told.

"If you look Third, so help me God…" I roll my eyes as I walk off, heading down stream. After a few minutes of hiking I come across a large stone and take my seat. If I paid attention, I could actually catch a glimpse of a stone crab every now and again at the bottom of the stream. Well, knowing that food will be easy to come by is a good thing. Just as I was starting to relax, I hear something that was unfamiliar to my ears. Rei didn't even finish her scream before I was jetting towards the two girls, and when I finally got there, we all realized that this wasn't exactly an island paradise.

"Rei, Asuka, start heading back to the beach," across the lake from us stood a medium sized, white tiger… of course, size doesn't matter when you're dealing with something like this. I glance at the two girls, unmoving, "Now," my voice wasn't yelling, but it wasn't exactly calm either, and thankfully, I got my point across. They both started to slowly walk backwards, never averting their stare from the animal.

"Shinji, come on…" I hear Rei speaking to me, but I just ignore it. Her words from yesterday rang in my head, but I couldn't help myself. Just as the girls were leaving sight, the tiger actually sat down, still looking at me and panting. I'm still not sure why I acted the way I did, but I began heading towards the shore, and by the time my body was out of water, the cat was only ten feet from me, still sitting.

I've always read about large islands containing up to four tigers from people either taking them there or the tigers themselves swimming, but this island wasn't nearly big enough for more than one of these animals. On top of that, why is it white? We're in the tropics, its white coat wouldn't do it any good in the forest. Once again, my body took over, not following what my brain was telling it to do, causing me to walk towards the cat. Eventually, I was standing a few inches from it, and yet it still didn't make a move.

"What the hell…?" before I could react, it jumped up on its back legs and threw its front paws on my shoulders. I had to brace myself with all the strength I had; this thing had to weigh at least three hundred pounds! "You're just a big house cat, huh?" I gently scratch under its ear and give a small, nervous smile, "Well I'll be damned…" it actually licked me! Jesus, I know I'll be kicking myself for this later on, saying how stupid I was, but this is amazing! After it jumped off of me, I began to make my way back to the beach. It followed me for a little while, but it soon disappeared into the forest. Rei's never going to believe this! When I finally make it back, the full impact of what just happened began to hit me, and I had a nervous laugh that I just couldn't shake.

"Shinji!" Rei immediately latches onto me when I step onto the beach, "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Rei, whoa, calm down, its fine," she was stiff as a board, "Oh come on, nothing happened… well, actually…"

"Shin…" her voice was shaking uncontrollably. I let go of her and turn around to see the same tiger sitting, staring at me.

"Oh, its fine," I lean down next to the cat and scratch the top of it's head, "I don't really understand it, but I think it likes me… and I'm not sure, but I think it's a she… anyway, I think it's trained or something. Maybe someone had it as a pet and when it got too big, they let it go here, I dunno, but she's friendly. Come here," the two girls slowly made their way to me, "Oh come on! Do you not see me next to it? If she wanted us dead, we wouldn't be here right now. She's obviously fine with humans."

"How did you even find this out? You can't tell me that you walked up to some wild tiger and started petting it!" Asuka, now more comfortable, got her bitchy tone back.

"Well… yeah, actually," I let out a nervous laugh, "I'm telling you, she's fine. And look at it this way; if there's a trained tiger on this island, there's a chance that there might be humans."

"Shinji? Do you not remember what I told you yesterday? Quit trying to be the hero! I don't care if she's friendly or not, you didn't know that!" Rei was still nervous around the cat. She had tears in her eyes and I could see her hands still shaking.

"Rei, I'm going to have to agree with Third on this one. As far as he knew, this thing was wild, but he put himself on the line for YOU," did… Asuka just defend me…? "As much as I hate to admit it, he was right… for once," Rei looked down slightly in either embarrassment or shame.

"Sorry… it's just…" she finally broke down and started crying full force.

"Come here," I take her into a hug, and she just sobs into my shoulder. All the stress of his whole incident is getting to her. She's not crying over the tiger, she's crying over everything that's happening to us. You only hear about these stories in movies or TV shows, we never thought that we'd actually be living it. I think that's one of the main reasons we had that moment last night; we just needed to know someone was there caring about us. I can't imagine how Asuka is feeling though… me and Rei have something driving us – each other, but Asuka… who does she have? Misato was the only person left that cared about her, and as tough as she may like to play herself, she was just as scared as we were, if not more.

"I'm… gonna go for a walk…" Asuka left me a Rei alone, most likely feeling awkward.

"This is going to be one hell of a story to tell when we get back, right?" I wasn't expecting an answer, but I thought that the mentality of 'when' will help her, because she seems to have lost that since last night, "We'll probably end up on one of those shows that'll make us lie to make out story more exciting. Think about it; not only are we heroes for piloting, but now we'll be a survival story!" we stayed completely silent, outside of her crying, for about ten minutes before I spoke up again, "I'm scared too… but we'll be alright…"

"No we won't Shinji… we're just three kids on this island… we have no survival skills, no one knows we even crashed, and we'll eventually run out of food… don't lie to me…" I couldn't even say anything, she was right. What if we did die here? How long would it be before they even realized we didn't make it to the right island? How long will we even last here? Sure, there's food and water, but if we get even slightly injured, we have no way of treating it. A simple cut could become infected and kill us… we can't think that way though. If we give up, there really is no chance of us surviving this. If we keep a positive attitude, we at least have a slim hope.

---

Midnight – Beach

The tiger, which Asuka named Tresse, meaning stripe in German, left us shortly after Rei calmed down. This island was fairly large, so we didn't expect to see her again. 'Life' went on as normal; we ate some fruit, I washed up at the stream, and we actually managed to make a fire. Asuka and I got together some fallen trees and made a shelter that would hopefully hold up to some wind. We were all gathered around the fire, making small talk and joking every now and again. Of course, Rei and I were sitting close together, but Asuka was on the other side of the fire by herself. For some reason, I actually felt bad for her… but why should I? She wouldn't care about me.

"Oh hey, look," Asuka diverts our attention from the fire and onto Tresse walking towards us and carrying something. She sat down next to the fire and dropped a small, bloody deer, "Where the hell did she get that?"

"I've heard of tigers out here, but deer?" Tresse began eating her meal, which, to her, was fairly small. This was just getting weird… after making the comment, Rei moved in a little closer to the deer and looked at it, "That's a water deer… they only live in Korea and China. What's it doing here?" someone had to have put these animals here. Maybe this is one of those private islands where people pay to hunt? No, because it would be illegal to hunt tigers… not that it really matters these days.

We eventually moved on from the subject and back onto our random topics. We stayed up until about four in the morning before going to sleep. Tresse, on the other hand, took the shelter as her own right after she finished with the meal. She was nothing but a huge house cat. Oddly enough, the three of us slept close together. Rei was lying on her side with her head resting on my chest, with Asuka next to her about two feet away. Even Asuka needs to know that there are people here for her.

That night I barely slept, but I don't know why. I was plenty tired, and the feeling of Rei's breath on my chest acted as a tranquilizer, but I just couldn't get my mind to stop racing. It was mainly about the same things as earlier today, but that thought just doesn't get old in my mind. If we did die, who would go first? If it was Asuka, I could deal with that, but if Rei died… I really don't know what I would do. Honestly, I doubt that I would have any drive to go on after that, even with Asuka around. I tried to push those thoughts out of my head… for now at least.

---

Afternoon

I was the first to wake up, and I immediately saw that the fire was still burning a little. I got up, laying Rei's head in the sand, and threw some more dried wood on the embers. Soon enough, it was back to a full blaze. I decided to head over to the lake to get a drink and see if I couldn't find more crabs. The crabs came easy, but as I was about to drink, I realized that the water could have bacteria in it. I really couldn't afford any infections or illnesses, so I passed on the water for now. I had to find a way to boil the water, but that would require a bowl, which we don't have.

When I got back, I couldn't help but smile at the sleeping Rei. She looked so cute when she was sleeping, even if it is out here. She was slightly curled up, not leaving her body too exposed to the elements, making her look like a child taking a nap. Asuka, on the other hand, could not have been cruder. She was sprawled out on her back, snoring slightly, and completely forgetting the fact that we're in the tropics. I give it a few hours before she starts complaining about sunburn. After a little while, I decide to lay back down with Rei. Doubting that I could get back into my original position without waking her, I just took my place behind her, holding her close. I couldn't believe that she wasn't awake yet. Normally she'd be up far before anyone else, but I guess the late night really got to her.

"Shinji…?" I jump slightly at her voice. I could have sworn she was asleep! "Can we go for a walk? I wanted to speak with you… alone."

"Sure," I get up and help her to her feet, "What about?" she simply looks down at Asuka, then back at me, "Oh… okay," I thought we already went over this… damnit! Not like I have much of a choice right now though. As we begin to walk into the forest, Tresse gets up and follows close behind us.

"It's about Asuka… and you," before she could go further, I cut in.

"Listen Rei, I already told you about her, I wouldn't do anything with her. Plus, you know how much she hates me, not like I even COULD do anything," damn, should have used that line before.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. You two are constantly bickering. Now, I know that she's always the one to start it, but still, it's getting to me. If we're going to make it out of here, we're going to have to get along. I already spoke with her last night after you fell asleep, and she knows that I was going to do the same with you. She said that she'll try and be nicer, but just try not to make her mad, okay?" she's acting as if I'm the one causing the problem! I keep that to myself though…

"Okay, I'll do what I can, but I still don't see how I did any of it."

"Well, you do sometimes fight back. I'm not saying that you should let her say whatever she wants, but I do just want you two to get along. That's it," she gives me a sweet smile, ending the conversation, "So, how'd you sleep?"

"Eh, not so great. I'm not the camping type… not like I have much of a choice right now," we were just starting to walk past the waterfall. We haven't really gone further than this, but really, why not? We might as well familiarize ourselves with our surroundings.

"Yeah, true. I never thought that I would miss my apartment," I never really did like that place, even after she fixed it up. It's just in such a bad area; I never did feel safe with her living there, even before we were dating.

"Yeah… I'll probably start living at NERV now… hopefully I don't have to leave," with Misato gone, there was no one to fight for my right to stay here. Gendo could easily send me back.

"You won't, don't worry about it. Worst case scenario is that you 'run away' and live with me," she sends me a smiling wink. That would be the worst outcome?! "Hey, what happened to Tresse?" I look back to see her a good ten yards back, sitting down, "That's odd… normally she follows you… well, I don't want to get lost, we should head back," she takes my hand and we begin to walk back, Tresse going back to following me like before.

We were gone for about half an hour, and oddly enough, it was pretty enjoyable. Nothing exciting really happened, but I did have a little fun talking with Rei… and the time away from Asuka, of course. The weird thing is, I didn't always dislike her. In fact, I've asked her out before… but Rei doesn't know that, all she knows is that I did like her at one point. Unfortunately, that was a time where I let my hormones get the best of me. I never have liked her personality, even when she was being nice. She was just too… cocky for my tastes. And my point was only proven when we got back to the beach. The first thing I noticed was that Asuka was gone, and soon after I saw the raft was missing.

"Asuka! What are you doing?!" Rei runs to the shoreline, yelling at a slowly disappearing Asuka. She was about a hundred yards away, way too far for us to follow her.

"I'm going to find help! Just don't die!" she began to use the trunk of a small tree as an ore, not looking back at either one of us.

A/N – Okay, I admit that it wasn't exactly the most exciting chapter I've ever written, but the next will be much better. I had to set a few things up first, so bear with me. Find out exactly what I was doing in the next chapter, Gentleman; until then, keep on keepin' on!


	4. Gentleman

Chapter 4: Gentleman

A/N – Well, as I'm sure you've noticed, I'm just posting chapters one after another. Normally I wait until I get 5-8 reviews before posting a new one, but since this is to help me, I won't be doing that. But please, review and critique my writing, I could use the input. I'm all for constructive criticism, but please don't flame.

Beach – 12:00 PM

We haven't really been counting the days, seeing as that would just depress us, but we guessed we've been out here for a little over two months. We only spoke about Asuka once since she left, and by now, I doubt it matters. I think even Rei has accepted that Asuka didn't make it; she can only hold optimism for so long. Nothing has really changed ever since we got here. We find food, sleep, and build shelters, simple things like that. I think both of us have accepted the fact that we'll probably be here for the rest of our lives, however long that may be. In fact, we're pretty used to the idea now. We live on our lives like we normally would; we still joke around, have fun here and there… we even tried to teach Tresse some tricks, but that didn't turn out at all. Our original clothes are long gone, and we have changed into some of the other things that were in the suit case. None of it really fit me, seeing as it was mostly Asuka's clothes, but I did find a shirt I could wear. Thankfully, m jeans are still holding up. Rei is wearing one of Asuka's 'beaters', as she puts it, and a pair of jeans that she cut down to small shorts. The fabric that was left over is now a chew toy of Tresse.

Both of us have changed quite a bit. Since we started actually working to survive – finding and breeding deer, building decent shelters, things like that – our bodies have adapted to it. Not only muscular wise, but even the skin on our hands has gotten rougher to deal with the constant pressure on them. We've learned how to make fire easier than before… it was more of just a practice issue than anything else. We've migrated from our original spot to a spot that's closer to the waterfall. Above all, we have become extremely close… how could we not? We've spent every minute of the day together for the last two months – at least. It's even gotten to the point where we were talking casually about marriage. Not necessarily marrying each other, but just the idea of it. What we would want in a wedding, where it would be, and, more often than not, who would be the person on the other side of us. We never actually said it, but we definitely implied things.

Rei has changed immensely, it's almost like a different person is with me. Even though we've been in the sun constantly, her skin has only darkened slightly. What most would call normal skin tone she calls a tan. Her hair grew extremely quickly compared to mine; hers has already grown about five inches, making the end of her hair at about mid-back. For me, I decided to keep mine short. I just thought it was too hot with longer hair, so I found a way to trim it down easily; fire. I would just grab whatever hair I wanted gone between my fingers, get a stick on fire and just burn away the hair. As bad as it sounds, I've become pretty good at it. I'm able to make it look like a real haircut. Rei refuses to cut her hair, but she won't tell me why. We haven't explored the island past the waterfall, which we were actually preparing to do right now, because she was scared of other animals like Tresse.

"You ready?" we just finished a meal of steamed crab – yes, we're actually eating steamed crab now – and were about to get up to leave.

"Yeah, let's go," I help her to her feet and we begin to walk off… well, I do. Unfortunately, she dislocated her femur two days ago and it's still badly bruised and swollen, so I've been carrying her on my back whenever we would walk a distance of more than a few feet. The only good news is that by some miracle I was able to put it back in place, which I still have no idea how I did, "What are we even expecting to find?"

"I dunno. It's a pretty big island, we could find some old camp grounds or even an overgrown farm. You never know," hopefully we'll find some more food… it's not that we were running low, not at all, it's that the same food over and over was getting annoying. We always either have crab, deer or fruit… always bananas. Every now and again Tresse would come bock from a hunt and give us a rabbit or other small mammal in exchange for a fawn, but they would always taste the same.At first, Rei flat out refused to eat red meat, saying that it tasted like blood, but she eventually got over it when no crabs were caught and fruit was running low. Even now she cringes when she eats it, but she's gotten better about it.

"Wishful thinking there Shinji. You know the best we'll find is a different kind of fruit," hell, I'd take it, "You know, I was thinking last night."

"Yeah? About what?"

"Well, be honest with me here, do you really think they'll ever find us? I mean, they have to know we're lost by now."

**THIRD SEASON OF LOST, COMING OUT ON DVD THIS DECEMBER!**

"Yeah, they have to know, but really, I doubt they'll come across us. Even if they do see the island, all we have out is a fire and shelter, and that could be from a fisherman. Where'd this come from anyway?" she rests her head on my shoulder.

"Well, I've just been thinking about it recently, but what if they found Asuka, and then thought we just fell off the raft? They could say we're dead and give up…" I would never say this, but honestly, I'd be fine with that. I've become fond of this island, and even more so to the seclusion. If I had my way, I don't think I would even want to be found.

"Look at us Rei, we're not even thirsty. We could easily live here for years, someone will have to come across us eventually, you know?" I see her smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah…" by now we were much deeper into the forest than normal. I've been kicking up dirt on purpose so I could have a trail back to camp in case we got lost… well, more lost. After about half an hour of walking, we come across a series of flagstones in a line, kind of like a walkway, "Wow… you think there's an old house around here?" the stones weren't kept clean, but they were obviously store bought – they were too perfect.

"Hopefully, maybe we could find some supplies," I follow the trail and within a few minutes come across a fairly large house. The house, unlike the stones, looked brand new. It was made of solid rock, giving it an old English feel. It stood about three stories high, but I couldn't really tell because of the lack of windows. There were to large wooden doors with the face of a tiger engraved on them as an entrance.

"No way…" both of us were wide eyed. How could we have lived so long out here without ever seeing this place? With shaking legs, I walk up to the door and give it a heavy knock, praying someone will answer. We hear footsteps approaching, and soon the door was opened by a very large man. He stood at least seven feet and was built of nothing but muscle – this was obvious even through the suit he was wearing. His skin was a light grey color, giving him a zombie-esque appearance. His eyes were, from what I could see, extremely light blue, almost grey, and his head was completely bald.

"I… I'm Shinji Ikari… we've been stranded out here for months…" I waited a few seconds, and he didn't reply, "Can you help us? Do you have a radio or phone?" still nothing. He didn't even look down at us.

"I apologize for his rudeness, you see, Ivan here is deaf and dumb," a smaller, rich looking man came out from behind him. He had a full head of black hair with a mustache that curled up into two points, "He is, like his whole race, quite savage," he just stands there with a smile for a moment, staring at our dumbfounded faces, "Oh, he's a Cossack, as am I."

"Impressive…" I hear Rei mutter under her breath… as if I knew what a Cossack was. The man extends his hand towards me.

"You can call me General Zaroff, or simply General if you prefer. Nice to meet you Mr…?" I shake his hand.

"Shinji Ikari, and this is Rei Ayanami. We've been stranded on this island for almost three months, our plane crashed. Do you have a phone we could use?" he welcomes us into his home without a word. Oddly enough, Tresse followed us inside, and Zaroff didn't care. Once inside, I saw why he didn't care… he couldn't have. He was obviously a hunter his walls were lined with animal trophies. Everything from alligators to rabbits could be seen. Even a bald eagle was strung from the ceiling to make it look as if it was flying.

"I apologize, but my current radio is broken, and phones are an impossibility here. I'll have Ivan fix the device; he's quite good with his hands. Until then, you are welcome to stay here as long as you like. Would you like something to drink?" I put Rei down on the leather sofa and sit next to her.

"Do you have anything but water? It's all we've had so far," Rei spoke up before I could.

"Unless you enjoy wine or brandy, no. I do have any food you can imagine though, so feel free to ask for anything you might like," he takes a seat in the large recliner across the room.

"Excuse my asking, but you said you were a general? And a Cossack? That's quite the title," Rei regained her perfect language habit, most likely out of respect.

"Ah yes, I was a general back in my day. Now, however, I live here. I enjoy the seclusion, I must say. I bought this island about twenty years back and filled it with exotic animals from all around the globe, and I'm sure you've noticed. No wonder I haven't been able to find that feline, she's been with you this whole time! You may keep her if you like, turns out she is too lovable to be hunted."

"So you put animals on this island just to hunt them?" he nods at my statement, "Then why haven't we heard any gunshots fired?" he begins to laugh loudly.

"My dear boy, only cowards hunt with lead! Did I not say that I am a Cossack? A blade and my hands are all I need!" this guy HAD to be joking… and what the hell is a Cossack?! "I've hunted every animal worth the kill on earth, and I've never fired a gun at another living creature, I can say that honestly. Do you enjoy hunting Mr. Ikari?"

"I've never really tried it," and I doubt I would last a minute the way he does it!

"Oh, then you must accompany me on my next hunt! What would you like, hm? It seems as if you've domesticated all my deer, and that was the only small game on this island. I've been saving a bull elephant in the pens for such an occasion, should I set him free?" this guy has to be joking! How the hell do you take down an elephant with a knife?!

"No! Um… I-I mean, no, we're just interested in getting home, but thank you. Do you have any clothes we could wear? These are just getting too old," he stands up and knocks his foot on the wooden floor twice, and soon enough, Ivan enters the room. He says something in what sounded like Russian, and Ivan soon leaves the room with a nod, "I thought you said he was deaf?"

"I did, Ivan has the ability to read lips. Back on topic though; all I have that will fit you two are some miscellaneous clothes I found adrift at sea. In fact, they may be yours, I found them just around the time you said you went down," turns out they were ours. We finally got to change into our own clothes… clean ones for once! Rei apparently snuck on her own bag, so even she got what she wanted. Now, instead of wearing torn, faded, and stinking rags, we were in a perfectly clean environment. I now had on a t-shirt with my extra pair of swim shorts, and Rei had her typical 'beater' and cut-off jeans. Not much of a change for her, but at least she looked better. When we came back out into the living room, Zaroff immediately handed Rei a towel, "Please my dear, it looks as if you haven't washed in ages. Ivan will lead you to the bathing quarters," this guy is so rich, he has a separate room for a shower?

"Oh, thank you," he just said you looked like crap and you say thank you?! She walks behind Ivan, being guided upstairs.

"Shinji my boy, are you sure you wouldn't like to go hunting with me?" sitting in the leather chair, he swirls a glass of brandy inside a crystal glass, "I can guarantee you the time of your life."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not really the hunting type."

"Really now? Come with me," he gets up and walks over to a door on the far side of the room, "You see Mr. Ikari, I haven't had a decent hunt in years… a least, not since the last batch of visitors came to my island," I follow him into the dark room, "This is where I keep my most prizes trophies," on the wall hung the head of an animal that was too familiar to me, "Unfortunately for me, hunting all around the world has ended with the boredom of hunting animals. It's always the same thing; I stalk the leopard for a day or two and finally take it out when it has its back turned. The same goes with every other animal… except one. Only one can think for itself; plan, fight back, run away, and above all, think. So you see, Shinji Ikari, I'm not asking you to hunt with me, I'm demanding it."

A/N – Gotta love crossovers! Hopefully you are able to pinpoint what book I'm referencing here, if not… too bad. Well, it's been a couple months alone for the two lovebirds, and it appears as though they're growing used to it, but with Zaroff now in the picture, how long will their little paradise last? Find out in the next chapter, Dangerous Game; until then, keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – By the way, if you don't know what a Cossack is, search it on Wikipedia. I didn't make it up.


	5. Dangerous Game

Chapter 5: Dangerous Game

Zaroff's House – 2:30 PM

"You… hunt humans?" he simply nods, "Just for sport?" slight anger was entering my voice.

"Not just for sport my boy, for a living. You see, I have enough wealth to last me the rest of my days, and since there is nothing else to do on this island, I decided to start my own little… 'buisness', you may call it."

"And if I refuse?" he raises an eyebrow and smirks.

"Well then, Ivan will have a new play thing. I take it you like that girl?" I lunge towards him and grab him by the collar, yet he never lost his poise, "Ooo, temper temper. You wouldn't want to upset me, now would you?"

"If he touches one hair on her head-"

"Oh enough drabble. She is safe, and Ivan is behaving… for now. If you play my little game, I promise to let both of you go. I'll even call in a distress signal for you; but first you must play by my rules," I let go of him… not like I have much of a choice, "I'll give you a hunting knife, and a ten hour head start. From then on, you must survive twenty-four hours. If you lose, I will let the girl go, you have my word. Do you accept?" he holds out his hand, wanting to seal the bargain.

"You better pray I don't win…" I shake his hand firmly, "When do I start?" he picks up a knife from the table and tosses it to me.

"Begin."

---

Two hours later – Forest

I've been running non-stop ever since the game started, and it's finally wearing on my body. Tresse followed me, which may be a good thing. I can honestly see her defending me if anything goes wrong. I didn't want to leave Rei there alone, but I didn't have a choice. I spoke with her briefly before I left, informing her of the situation. I put her in a room and locked the door from the inside. It was one of those old-times locks where only the person on the inside can get out, so unless Ivan breaks down the door, she should be alright. I stop running instantly, causing Tresse to trip over herself, as I get an idea. What if I let him come to me, and I just stand behind a trap? He said that he never uses guns, so he'll have to get close to me.

After about an hour of tinkering with the knife, vines and a large fallen tree, I finally have it ready. It was one of those classic snag traps where simply walking would kill you. He comes towards me, pulls on the vine that's holding onto a rock, which is holding the tree from falling. Even if he dodges it and lunges back, I've hidden the knife – pointing up of course – in a pile of leaves. And, lastly, if he jumps forward, I found an old pit that I'm guessing he made for a trap of his own. I'll be spending the greater part of my time sharpening pieces of wood to put in the pit, and then I'll have to find a way to cover it up so he doesn't see… but I'll worry about that when I finish.

Hours pass, I become extremely tired, and Tresse has actually fallen asleep, but I'm finally done. I'm guessing that I have one hour before he leaves to find me. It shouldn't take him too long, I'm not that far from the house; of course, I'm not close either. I was able to find some rotting leaves nearby, and I just finished filling the pit with them. They were so fragile that even picking them up caused them to crack and break off, so I was as careful as possible with them. If he falls into the pit, the leaves will give and, sending him to the bottom.

I lie next to Tresse, feeling safe, and eventually doze off into an extremely light sleep. I was even woken up a few times by a fly landing on Tresse or myself. I had to be at least a little alert, Zaroff could come from behind…

---

Fourteen Hours Later – 2:30 PM – Same Place

The suspense was literally killing me. I haven't been able to sleep in ten hours, and I've even resorted to playing with Tresse by hovering a leaf over her face while she swatted at it. Was he even looking for me? Was this his idea of some sick joke? Maybe he was just toying with me… just seeing how long he could hold out before I win. I can even say how many times I considered taking the knife and heading back to the house, but that would just be a death wish. I'm sure Ivan was guarding Rei, and there's no way in hell I could take him on, even with a gun, let alone a knife. About two more hours pass before I start hearing footsteps, thankfully in the direction I wanted them to be. I stand up, face my traps and wait for him to come into sight. My heart was pounding, but I had to keep my cool or else he'll see through me. He finally comes into my line of vision, and he simply smirks.

"Not a very fast runner, are you Ikari?" apparently faster than him…

"I give up Zaroff, just let Rei go. I don't care what you do to me, just don't hurt her," he looses his stalker-like stance and stands up straight.

"Well that was no fun… but I have to admit, it did take me awhile to find you," he begins to walk towards me, "Most people wander around the entire time, but you turned out to be different. I couldn't use my old 'hiding in a tree' method this time," just a few feet closer… "Did you have fun my boy? I know I did…" he finally makes contact with the wire, but stops, "And oh yes… did you honestly think your little games would work on me?" he takes a step back and throws a rock on the vine, causing the tree to smash to the floor, "Nice try, but not a chance," he steps up onto the tree, and over it… maybe the pit will work… if it doesn't, I'm dead, "Pulling cheap tricks won't help you wi-" he was instantly engulfed by leaves. He didn't make a sound after that. I didn't look down as I went and got my knife.

"That was a sorry excuse for a death… being killed by a fifteen year old…"

---

Three Hours Later – 3:30 PM – House

The front door was open, so I simply walk in. I didn't hear a sound outside of Tresse's footsteps. I call out to Rei a few times, but not even Ivan answers. I head up to her room and find the door unlocked. I hear a slight mumbling coming from the inside, but I couldn't hear a word of it through the wooden door. When I finally open I see Rei sitting on the edge of the bed with Ivan – sitting like a pre-schooler – in front of her.

"Shinji!" she damn near leaps across the bedroom and hugs me tight. Ivan simply turns his head and looks at me with what I thought was a smile… what the hell happened?

"Um… Rei? Why is there a giant in your room?" she chuckles a little as she wipes away a tear, "Seriously, what happened here?"

"Well, turns out Ivan isn't a mute, but he is deaf. He can kind of speak Japanese, but there's some Russian mixed into it," looking at him sitting cross-legged was actually a little funny. Here was this full grown man that could stare down a silverback gorilla acting like a child, "He said that he would never hurt me, Zaroff just says that to people to scare them. A little late for that though, huh?" yeah… just a little…

"Yeah… he was an idiot, he fell into a trap he built. Anyway, let's grab some food and go, I don't want to be here anymore," I was in a rush to get out. God only knows who else is in this house…

In the end, Ivan decided to stay behind with the house. We invited him to come with us, but he said – I think – that it was his parent's house, and he didn't want to leave. We hurry back to where it was apparently safe, on the beach. Tresse actually let Rei on her back so she didn't have to walk. I would have carried her myself, but after all that, I was just too exhausted. She seems more or less unharmed from the whole incident – both physically and mentally. When we finally get back to our camp, I fall back onto the sand and stare up at the sky. Nothing in this world could have gotten me up from here… it was so damn comfortable… I could have fallen asleep in a matter of minutes.

"Well that was a royal waste of time…" Rei sits next to me, looking out at the ocean.

"Not really. Think about it, if he lived here, he must have had food delivered to him every couple months. Ivan told me that the radio hasn't worked for years, so he couldn't have called in the food; he had to have had a schedule. If we just wait, I'm sure a helicopter will eventually come to drop off supplies, then see us," she looks down at me with that sweet smile, "See? There's an up side to everything!"

"Yeah… how about we don't go into the forest again? Unless we're getting water, I don't want to go back in there…"

"Okay, no problem. Listen, I'm going to see if I can find my old two-piece, I know I put it near the lake so it wouldn't get ruined like our other things," I don't even move as she gets up and walks away. To be honest, I didn't really want to be near her right now.

While I was out there putting my life on the line for her, she was in that house playing with some damn Russian. If she befriended him so quickly, why couldn't he have come out and helped me? Zaroff would have really killed me if he saw through the pit… I would have died… I did all that for her and she couldn't even stay focused long enough to at least try and get to me. I had to stop thinking about this; I was just going to get angry and end up doing something I'd regret.

I sit up in the sand and rub my face, trying to stay awake. Looking out into the ocean, I see a small yellow dot a little below the horizon. I count it off as a reflection of the sun and just continue blankly staring at the ocean. A few minutes pass, I go into a trance-like state, where I'm basically asleep, but I'm aware of everything around me… its hard to explain. The constant rippling of the waves kept me from going too deep – if it wasn't for those, I would have fallen asleep long ago. Eventually, I feel two arms wrap around my shoulders and a set of lips kissing the back of my neck.

"Hey… what you looking at?"

"Nothing…" she continues to peck at my neck, "That tickles… what are you doing?"

"I'm just so glad you're okay… you have no idea," she turns my head with her left hand and brings me into a soft kiss, "I was so worried about you… and I was so mad at myself, because I knew I couldn't help you," I don't know if she knew I was mad or not, but I have to admit, she was calming me down, "I love you so much Shinji…" I grab her right hand and smile.

"I love you to Rei…" I turn around in her arms and embrace her in a tight kiss, slowly leaning her back into the sand. When I eventually pull back, I see her smiling up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Shinji… if… when we get back…" she paused for a good minute, "Will you… never mind," she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"No, what were you going to say?" I smile down at her as I put my hand on her cheek, "Come on."

"Forget about it, it's no big deal," I just stare down at her, extremely confused, "Come here…" she puts her hand on the back of my head, once again bringing me in. We were like this for a good ten minutes before I hear something behind us. I pull back and look towards to ocean. I damn near faint at what I saw. After seeing the look on my face, Rei propped herself up on her elbows and gained the same astonishment as I had.

"Is that… our raft?" we both get up and look inside of it, scared that we might find Asuka. Instead of the obvious, a small Coke bottle with a rolled up piece of paper was off to the side. I pick it up and break the glass off of some wood. The paper looked like just plain printer paper you would get at an office supply store. Rei once again began to cry as she read the note… my heart just sunk.

"_I'm alright, and I'm finding help. Don't get on the raft and don't die. Please, just don't die. I'm coming, stay where you are._" It was obviously written in a hurry. I must have read over the note a hundred times before speaking up.

"I don't believe it…" Rei managed to speak through her light crying. If she made it, why couldn't we? I can't even describe how tempting it was to ignore the note and just get on the raft… but I knew it wouldn't work.

"See that Rei? We're gonna be fine!" Rei drops the note and hangs her head, "Come on Rei, this is great news!"

"I know but… how do we know that we'll last until she finds us? Ivan told me about what he had in his house… he has live, wild animals Shinji… if any of them get loose and find us…" why is it every time even a little thing goes wrong she gets like this? I swear, sometimes I think she has no self motivation.

"Oh it's fine! Even if they do get out, Ivan would notice and take care of it. That guy could take down a bear!"I put my arm around her shoulders, "Look, why don't we go down to the lake and relax a little?" she planted on a fake smile and walked with me away from the raft.

A/N – Gah… I hated this chapter SO much… I'm just not into the whole action thing, I never really did like it. Outside of the occasional, oh, I dunno, plane crash, I'm just not into writing anything but romance and drama… anyway, that being said, I doubt anything like that will happen again. Or at least any time soon. So, Asuka's probably alive, that's a good thing, huh? I think the two are holding up fairly well seeing as they've been stuck on that island for almost three months. Check out the next chapter, A Little Too Far; until then, keep on keepin' on!


	6. End of Season 1: A Little Too Far

Chapter 6: A Little Too Far

One Month Later (Exactly 4 Months On The Island) – 9:00 PM

Because there were no mountains, and we were surrounded by nothing but water, the sun went down fairly late compared to other places. It was just barely twilight, and for some reason, everything touching the ground seemed to be pitch black. Of course, it could be the fact that we're surrounded by trees… we've been at the lake almost all day, just relaxing and talking. We would occasionally catch a fish and just eat it raw, even though we had a fire going back at the beach. Now that it was getting dark, Rei was getting a little jumpy over every little sound, and because of this, she was clinging onto me… not that I minded.

She had me trim her hair down to shoulder blade length; she claimed that it was getting too hot. Hell, I can't blame her, I can't stand more than two inches of hair, let alone that much. Right now, we were sitting in a shallower part of the lake, allowing just our upper chest and above to be exposed. The water was cold compared to the outside air, so it was plenty refreshing. The main reason we were here all day was to celebrate my birthday… at least we thought it was my birthday, we just had a general idea. Not that it really matters, it was amazing none the less. By now we've almost completely forgotten about the note Asuka sent us via raft. We assumed that she tried to get people to search for us, but they eventually gave up.

"Hey Shinji?" she was speaking in a voice that was soft, yet not a whisper.

"Yeah?" she leans her head on my shoulder.

"This is going to sound stupid, so don't laugh, okay?" I simply nod, "I know that we've only been dating for under a year, but I think we have a special circumstance. I think because of this island, it feels like I've been with you for years," I completely agree, but I let her continue talking, "and… well… if we get back home…" I had to continue the conversation, because she sure wasn't going to finish.

"If we get back home what?" she turns around and sits on my lap, her face a few inches from mine.

"If we get back home… will you marry me?" my eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, "Listen, I know we're young, but it doesn't have to be right away. We could wait a few years… I just wanted you to know how I felt…" I really couldn't say a word, "Sorry if I freaked you out… forget about it…" she starts to get off of me, but I hold her hips in place.

"Of course…" and that's all she needed. Rei lunged forward and latched onto me, embracing me in a tight hug, "But… wasn't I supposed to be the one that did this…?"

"Well, yeah, but knowing you it would never happen, so I made the move… are you sure about this? Really Shinji, if you don't want to make the decision right now, you don't have to, you won't hurt my feelings," why would I say no? Honestly, I couldn't come up with a single reason as to why not.

"No, this is exactly what I want…" twilight was gone, and now there was nothing but stars illuminating the sky and the ground. I could see her perfectly under the light… and she's never looked so beautiful, "So it's settled?" all she does is give me a sweet smile and nods, "Good… so, wh-" with me still talking, she initiates a kiss… quite an aggressive one for her, too. She inches closer to my body, causing our torsos to be sandwiched together. After ten minutes of the most passionate kiss we've had, she pulls back and looks down at me with a smile.

"Do you want me?" she was barely above a whisper, but she kept that same smile on her entire time, "Hm…?"

"Of course I do, I already told you that," she shakes her head slowly and places her index finger on the middle of my collar bone.

"No… do you want me…?" her finger slid down to my stomach, her eyes and head following her movement. She looked up at me without moving her head, "Well?"

"Rei… I don't think… that's such a great idea… I mean, you could get pregnant, and we're not exactly parent material right now…" she once again shook her head with a smile.

"Wrong… Ritsuko said I was sterile… I can't get pregnant…" while that was kind of a let down in the long run, it did just shoot down my only excuse not to do this… so why not? "Here…" she reached behind her head and untied the only piece of string holding her bikini top on, then grabbed the cloth and threw it aside. She was still covering herself up with one arm, but still… wow… slowly, she leaned back in for another kiss, and pulled away her arm. It was only a peck, but she didn't lean all the way up like before, so my view was still blocked. When we were this close, I could see that she was blushing quite a bit… it was actually pretty cute. I slowly rose to my feet, picking her up as I did, and took her to a deeper portion of the lake where only our stomachs and above were showing when we were standing.

That was the first time I saw Rei exposed. I had mixed emotions about it; for one, she was obviously embarrassed, and part of me wanted to just stop right then and tell her to wait… but on the other hand… wow… I gave in. I lean into a smiling Rei and embrace her in a soft, calm kiss. My hands started on her hips as always, but one soon drifted to her chest, making her jump a little. The kiss continued as I gently messaged her, forcing the occasional moan out of her throat. My other hand, which was still on her back, drifted quite quickly itself, soon ending up on the back portion of the only cloth left on her. She pulls back and shows me that cute, blushing face.

"Shinji… be gentle…" she wasn't telling me to slow down, it was more of a forewarning for later on. Placing my hands on her waist to keep her in place, I walk behind her, kissing at her neck. My right hand started back to its original place on her chest while my left hand laced our fingers together. She tilted her head back as she succumbed to her senses, letting out a soft moan every few breaths. My right hand leaves her chest and slowly slides down her stomach, past her navel, and rested right above her groin, "Go ahead…" my hand slides under her bottom and she immediately quivers slightly.

"Are you okay?" I whisper in her ear and kiss her cheek.

"I'm fine…" she puts her free hand on top of my right hand, "Come on… go…" slowly, I penetrate her with my middle finger, "Mmmm…" she bites her bottom lip and once again leans her head back. Trying to take it slow, I just gently push around inside of her with one finger, but even that made her shake to the point where her legs were giving out. This went on for only five minutes before she pulled my hand out, "Shin… ji…" she turns around and once again embraces me in a tight, deep kiss. This, however didn't last long at all. Soon enough, she pulled back and smiles at me, still panting, "Here…" she leaned down and took off the last bit of shield she had on, and soon after taking off the only one I ever had on.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I take her into a hug, but she was still far enough away from me so we could look at each other.

"Yeah… I'm sure…" she reached under the water and positioned me, blushing deeper than before. She wraps her arms around my neck and closes her eyes.

---

Next Morning – 9:00 AM

"Mmmm…" I wake up to the feeling of Rei nuzzling her face into the crook of my neck. I still have my arm around her shoulders from last night, and it looks like she hasn't moved a bit either. Last night was… amazing… I absolutely loved it, and not just because of the physical part. I feel a hundred times closer to her mentally than I ever have. Right now, we were back at the beach under our shelter, which let in close to zero light from the roof. Outside of that… nothing has changed. Our clothes were still at the lake, and I'm guessing the same goes for Tresse. Looking down at Rei for the first time in full daylight almost made me shiver just from the thought of last night. As always, she looked so cute when she was sleeping… but right now it was a little beyond cute. I decide to get up and get our clothes... as if they probably weren't already taken away by the stream. I find her bikini top and my swim trunks, but outside of that, nothing. Even Tresse was gone. I'm guessing she went to find something to eat. I shrug it off as I walk back to Rei with the clothes in hand.

"Shin… ji…" I hear her talking lightly in her sleep as she curled up slightly. I kneel next to her after putting on my shorts and gently kiss her on the cheek. She slowly opens her eyes halfway and smiles up at me, "When did you get up?"

"A few minutes ago… how'd you sleep?" she gets up and takes her top from me, putting it on.

"How do you think I slept?" she sends a wink my way and proceeds to look around for her bottom, "Aw, did I lose it? That was my only one… hey Shinji, you know where my… holy hell…" her eyes go wide at something behind me, and I soon follow her action. Neither of us could move, and I know damn sure that I couldn't breath. Off in the distance was a white and red helicopter, heading straight for us, "Is that…"

"No way…" we glance at each other for a moment before frantically waving our hands at the aircraft, screaming at the top of our lungs. I could see tears running down Rei's face as the helicopter landed twenty yards from us. Almost immediately after landing, a certain red-headed girl came jetting out of the helicopter, and lunging at Rei.

"I can't believe you're still alive!" Asuka pulls back and looks at Rei, "And… naked… what the hell happened?!"

"Well… there was… forget it… you got anything for me to wear?" sending a glare my way, Asuka leads a half naked Rei to the helicopter, where she is covered by a towel. As I start walking towards the savior, I look back to see Tresse sitting down, not following me for once. I stand there for a few seconds, staring it in the eyes before smiling and walking off. She'll be fine here; there's plenty of food, Ivan's not a hunter, and it's a large island. I have to admit though… I'm going to miss her… when I finally get onto the helicopter, a slew of paramedics began searching my body for any cuts, infections, or anything of the sort.

"Oh get off of me! I'm fine!" they all back off and I take my seat next to Rei… which apparently was a mistake. I was met with a hard slap soon after I sat down by Asuka.

"You son of a bitch! You forced her into sex, didn't you?!" actually, it would have never happened if she didn't start it all, "You just wait until Gendo hears about this! He's going to have your ass!"

"Asuka! Shinji didn't do anything, stop it. I'm sorry, but it's none of your business what we did, so drop it," wow… did Rei just stand up to Asuka…? Kick ass! "What took you so long anyway? We were there for four months!"

"Yeah, well, two days after I left I ended up on this really small island with a few natives on it. I was in pretty bad condition, so they nursed me back to health, but I couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying. They gave me some water and some food, and then I headed out again. Skip over a month of island hoping, and I finally come across a civilized area, but they didn't believe me until I got ahold of NERV, which took another two weeks. From then on we were searching every island looking for you two, and we just came across the right one eventually. But while I was working my ass off trying to save you two, all you did was play grab-phanny! Seriously Rei, that's just wrong on so many levels… but at least you're alright. And you look great, even compared to normal! I mean yeah, you could use a good comb, but you look amazing! Nice tan skin, long hair – which I like WAY better on you than short," she's like a machine… she won't stop talking… "You know, you should really keep up this look, it fits you. You'll have guys bowing down to you when they see how you look!" Rei and I glance at each other, give a small smirk, and let Asuka's comment go, "Speaking of looks, how did you two keep your teeth so clean?" who would have thought coconut shell fibers work as a toothbrush? Sure, tastes like crap, but it works.

"Asuka, can we talk later? I'm just a little tired right now," both of us were… for obvious reasons.

"Oh yeah, of course, sorry."

"Hey Asuka?" she looks over at me and I guide her to the seat across from Rei so we could talk without her hearing it.

"What do YOU want?" I know that I'm going to pay for this but… I don't care right now.

"Okay, I'll keep this short so you can understand it… I'm sick and tired of this attitude of yours where you think you have to protect Rei! Whether you like it or not, we're dating, and nothing's going to change that. So, you have two options here; you can either accept that we're together and support your best friend or you can go to hell," I was expecting at least a punch, but instead she just stares at me with wide eyes, "What do you have against me? What did I ever do to you? I basically work as your maid for two years and yet you still treat me like crap! And you know what's weird to me? You think that since you're her best friend, you'd be supportive of whatever decision she decides to make. If she wants to sleep with me, she'll sleep with me. If she wants to marry me, she'll marry me," just had to throw that in there… "You got anything to say?" it looked almost as if she was contemplating her answer before speaking.

"I'm sorry…" I expected her head to explode, but actually all that happened was her turning red… er, "You're right…" she lowers her head and places a distressed look on her face, "I'm… glad you're alright," she gives me a weak smile and once again looks away, "Really."

"You too Asuka," I had a mix of disbelief and sadness right then. On one hand, Asuka just said that she was happy I was alive, on the other, she just proved to me that she does care about me. I couldn't even say why I was sad, but I was definitely feeling it.

---

Flying

It's been a traveling hell ever since we got off that island. First, we had to land not even twenty minutes after we got on the helicopter in an airport. Then, after getting Rei some clothes, we got on what some people might call a plane, but, as Asuka gracefully describes it, it's a flying turd. Then we spent almost four hours on the turbulence filled ride before once again landing at an airport smaller than Rei's apartment. Four different planes and countless hours of flying, we were finally landing in Japan. When the country came into sight, Rei actually started crying out of happiness… personally, I kind of liked that island. Sure, the whole risk of dying thing wasn't too enjoyable, but the seclusion was irresistible. Maybe later on we could go there on purpose…

"Thank God!" Asuka, as always, had to make a scene as we got off the plane for the last time. I'm carrying Rei on my back while she sleeps, barely being able to open an eye the entire flight. She's probably the most mature girl I know, but at times, she can be worse than a five year old… not that it's a bad thing. I think it's actually kind of cute when she acts like this on these rare occasions. I can't really blame her though, she hasn't gotten to sleep on an actual chair for months, no matter how uncomfortable it was. It was about eight at night, and the sun was just starting to go down. Gendo and Ritsuko, among other NERV employees, were there to either greet us or get right down to business as usual… my guess was business.

"I'm glad to see you all are alive," Gendo was the first to speak, and oddly enough, I think that was his way of welcoming us home, "Is there a reason you're carrying Ayanami?"

"She hasn't slept in awhile," I see Asuka smirk out of the corner of my eye, "Neither have I actually… can we just go somewhere and sleep for now?"

"You're not hungry?" hell, we pretty much ate like kings on the island… kings that loved fish.

"Not at all, we had plenty of food and water. I think we landed on the perfect island, actually. So, back to the whole sleeping thing, how about I drop off Rei at her place and I go…" I once again realized I wasn't going 'home' again, "Well… is there a place I can stay at NERV?"

"Actually, I was going to discuss this later, but now that you've brought it up; I'm moving Ayanami into the apartment you are living in, and Sohryu will be staying in the NERV hospital for a short while. When she returns, she will move in with you again," honestly, I sometimes think he lets the idea of saving money get in the way of common judgment… not like anything's going to happen that would cause trouble, but moving three teenagers – two of which are dating – into the same house just doesn't seem like it would be an obvious choice for most. Ritsuko immediately gets the look people get when they've either stubbed their toe or just heard something astronomically stupid.

"You're… kidding me…" by now Asuka had her jaw dropped, and eyes wide open. While Rei was her best friend, she enjoyed Rei in portions. Whenever they would get together for long periods of time, sometimes as little as an hour, they would start to bicker over the smallest things. The problem is, with Asuka being so stubborn and Rei being so smart, they kind of balance each other out in an argument. Rei would end up saying something that Asuka couldn't deny or just couldn't comprehend, and then Asuka would come back saying something completely irrelevant and just plain mean… and knowing both of them, neither will avoid these fights… damn it…

"Hey, what the hell? Why am I being sent to the hospital?! They're the ones that have been on the island for so long!"

"Actually Asuka, remember that small village that helped you out?" Asuka nods, still looking pissed off, "And remember how you told me that you ate the food they gave you?"

"Of course I do! They had fruit and some really tough meat," sounds like our entire menu back on the isle.

"Yeah… about that meat… the custom of that tribe is to eat their dead relatives so they can be together forever. It's also custom to hunt and kill a monkey with your bare hands… a monkey that carries a strain of the influenza virus that could kill you," Asuka, as would any other person, went completely white, "I said could, calm down. You're fine, I just need to-"

"I ate a fucking person?!"

"Well yeah, but that's not-"

"I ATE a person?" Ritsuko once again nods, "Like, a person person? Human?" sounds about right for Asuka…

---

Apartment – 1:00 AM

"I can not believe how amazing it is to be in a bed again!" this coming from a girl who decided to make a waterbed out of the raft… and succeeded, "Admit it Shinji, you're glad to be back home."

"Of course I am, but I just don't like the people, you know? The only people I really deal with are you, Asuka, Gendo and sometimes the guys from school, but we barely ever see each other. Not too many people at school like me Rei, you know that," mainly because the guys were jealous. I would always hear them talking about how 'lucky' I was to be living with Asuka and Misato, but once I started dating Rei, it just went further downhill. Well, that and I don't really go out of my way to make friends… I just don't really care too much.

"Yeah, true I guess… but why don't you try and meet some new people? There's no reason why you shouldn't have people to talk to," I'm just not too fond of the idea, that's all.

"Yeah, I'll try and be a little more social," of course, my thoughts and words were complete opposites.

Our conversations from that point drifted from here to there, but never really onto what was on my mind the whole time; what happened back on the island. Sure, I said that I'd marry her but… now that we're actually home it was really hitting me. I really expected us to be there the rest of our lives, and I would have been fine with that, but with the real world here… I just don't see it happening any time soon. Yes, I do want it to happen eventually, absolutely, but now I feel pressure to hurry up and get it done. I just don't know… maybe it was because I thought I'd be spending the rest of my life with her anyway, so it wouldn't make a difference, or maybe it was because I was just speaking out my ass again.

"You know, Asuka's never going to hear the end of this when we get back to school," especially after I tell everyone…

"No they won't because they're not going to find out! Seriously Shinji, don't do that to her, she's been through enough," while she was right, I still have to get back at her for… well, everything.

"Fine, I won't say a word." Actually, neither of us did just that for quite awhile. We were lying on my bed, just staring up at the ceiling for a good twenty minutes. I was close to falling asleep before she cut in.

"You know, you didn't seem too upset about Misato… is everything alright?"

"I try not to think about it. Honestly, it hasn't really hit me that she's gone yet," Rei never really got close to Misato, so it's not even affecting her.

"Well, shouldn't we hold a funeral or something? Or even just a gathering? I just don't think its right that," I roll over so I'm facing the wall, "Sorry…" she rolls in my direction so our entire bodies were close, and waits a few minutes before speaking again, "So Shinji…" she grabs my hand and laces our fingers together, "Have you thought about what I asked you?"

"Yeah, of course," she pecks the back of my neck, "You?"

"It's all I've been thinking about actually… and I've made a decision. I think we should wait a few years, see what happens. What I was asking before wasn't a spur of the moment thing, I still mean it, but right now I just think we're too young," thank God! "Are you willing to wait a few years?"

"Sure, why not. I wasn't planning on doing it anytime soon anyway, so it doesn't matter," we pretty much left the conversation at that. We said our goodnights and eventually drifted off to sleep, still hand in hand.

---

4:00 AM – Same Place

I was suddenly woken up by the sound Rei screaming right next to me. I leap up, my heart pounding and my eyes still half shut to see a certain penguin standing at the side of my bed, poking Rei with a can of tuna. Maybe I should have mentioned Misato's pet before I brought her in here… she's never met him, and up to now, she didn't even know we had a pet.

"What is that thing?!" she leaps to the other side of the bed, damn near trampling me, and leans against the wall, "Why is there a penguin in your room Shinji?!" by now, Pen-Pen was under my desk, scared of all the noise. I pick up the can and walk to the kitchen, the bird following close behind and Rei extremely far behind.

"It's just Pen-Pen, he's harmless," I feed him the fish and walk back to bed, my heart still pounding.

"JUST? There's a penguin in your house and you say JUST?! Is this normal for you?" I just shrug as I lay back down, her following soon after me, "Don't just shrug!"

"There's not really anything else to say. Yeah, he's our pet. He's smarter than you think though, so don't mess with him too much. I have him trained to wake me up at five-thirty on school days, so expect for that to happen again," I close my eyes immediately after the sentence and try to get back to sleep… but that was about to prove itself impossible.

"Oh, speaking of school," she got over that quickly… "When are we gonna go back? We start our junior year… well, correction, we were supposed to start our junior last month, but we were just a little tied up, "We have some serious catching up to do!" to be honest, I didn't really care about education all that much. I knew that NERV had to support me until I die or the base just dies, which ever one comes first, so I didn't see the point in it. I still work at school though; I normally get mostly A's and a few B's. What else am I going to do there? I get bored easily!

"Rei, we don't even know the date. Enjoy what's left of our vacation…" if you could call it that.

A/N – Not that much longer than the others, but definitely an eventful one. So, don't expect to see a marriage anytime soon, but expect to see it eventually. Not too much to say on this one outside of I got an idea for this fic; I'm going to be working in series, so consider this the first series. I'll be starting the second one next chapter, and I'll start labeling them in the chapter titles. So yeah, basically, see what the next series is about in the next chapter, Rei's Untold; until then, keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – I'm still looking for a proofreader, as I'm sure you can see, so yeah… if any of you can help, please do so. In other news, I still have no idea how well this is going because only two of you are reviewing… so basically what I'm asking for is some input! I don't care how long it is, just tell me how you like it, what I can improve on, stuff like that.


	7. Start of Season 2: Rei's Untold

Chapter 7: Season 2: Rei's Untold

Apartment – 6:00 AM

"Well isn't this just the most heartwarming sight?" ugh… not her… "Get up lovebirds, we gotta go to NERV. There's a cab waiting for us outside, get dressed," just because we were under the covers, she assumes we're naked? Jesus, I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt! I was too tired to change into more comfortable clothes…

"Mmmm… I'm too tired… can't it wait…?" Rei pulls the covers over her head with a grunt.

"No, it can't. Ritsuko said something about your parents visiting," with a sigh, Rei gets out of bed – wearing her typical tight black t-shirt and jeans – and begins to walk to the door. She never did like talking about her parents, even to me, so I always assumed it was a touchy subject with her, "Wow… okay then, that worked."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't make jokes right now Asuka," she didn't even say anything rude or hurtful, but it's the way she said it that would make a tree shake. The ride to NERV was a very quite one outside of the heavy metal music coming out of the radio. I tried holding her hand at one point, trying to calm her down, but she just moved away from me. By the time we got there, the stress level in the car was off the charts. After paying the driver with money NERV apparently gave Asuka, we had to rush to catch up with Rei.

"Rei, really, calm down. I don't know what-" she whips around and glares at me.

"Exactly, you DON'T know, so how about you keep your mouth shut for once?" she then once again storms off, leaving me wide eyed and confused in the hallway. To my surprise, Asuka walks up behind me and puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Don't take what she just said seriously, she's just mad, okay?" she gives me a weak smile and we walk down the hall, going after Rei. We were headed to Gendo's office, where I'm sure that I'll learn a lot more about Rei than I even cared to know. When we finally came to the huge black double-doors, I could hear a number of people mumbling behind them. Rei pounded on the door with her fist, and almost immediately a NERV security staff held the door for all three of us.

"I'm glad you're here," Gendo turned in his chair, not facing us, "I would like you to meet Mai and John," sitting down in front of Gendo's desk were two adults; the woman, Mai, was your typical Japanese woman. Nothing making her look unique in the least. John, on the other hand, was a little heavy set. Setting him apart even more, he wasn't Asian, and I'm assuming that he was American. They both stand up and John reaches out to shake my hand.

"John Wayne, actually, nice to meet you," he had one of those smiles that just lit up a room. Mai kept quiet as he directed his attention to Rei, "How's my girl doing, hm? You sure have shot up since I last saw you!" wait… his girl?! She looks nothing like either of them! Rei just kept silent, fire in her eyes the whole time, "Is that any way to greet your father?"

"You're NOT my father," oh thank God! "You sent me here not even a year after I was born just for some quick money," damn it! But Rei does have a point there. I once heard from Ritsuko that the parents of the pilots get a certain amount of money every year… which is why, I assume, they chose Asuka and I.

"You can bicker on your own time. I called you three here because I have some news that may or may not concern you, depending on what exactly it is. Rei's parents wanted all of you here before they made their 'announcement'," even Gendo seemed a little annoyed at this whole situation.

"Well of course," Mai finally speaks, "After all, I'm sure you three have grown close these years," more than they know, actually, "You see, now that all threats are gone, Rei's training no longer needs to take place. Because of this, we feel it is time to take her home. She has no place here anymore."

"Like hell I don't!" there she goes again… "You gave me away, and now that it's convenient, you want me back?!" I think both parents were surprised at how Rei was acting. I assume that they haven't even spoken to her since she changed.

"For one, watch your mouth young lady; and two, why wouldn't you come back? You have no place here," Rei once again cuts in, now with glistening eyes.

"Yes I do! I've spent my whole life here! You didn't even raise me, the Commander did!" so wait… if she sees him as a father… ewwww… she takes a deep breath, trying to calm down, "Listen… I'm staying here whether you like it or not," oh yeah, that's gonna work.

"Actually, they have complete say over this situation. I'm sorry Rei, but you have to follow what they say," I could have sworn that I saw Gendo shake a little when he said that… "Please go pack your things."

"Fuck off!" every single jaw dropped at Rei's outburst, "I'd rather die than live with those two!" with that, she stormed out of the office. I stood in shock for a few seconds before following after her, leaving her parents behind. I eventually catch up only to find her sobbing into her knees, curled up on the floor in a secluded corner. Naturally, I sit next to her and wrap my arms around her, "I'm so sorry Shinji… I'm so sorry…" she hugs me back, now crying into my shoulder.

"Why are you apologizing? Don't worry about this Rei, I'll just talk with them, it's no big deal," I feel her shake her head.

"Yes it is… knowing them, they'll make me go just to take me away from here…"

---

3:00 PM

Even through all the yelling, convincing, and even begging on my part, it still proved impossible to change her parent's mind. I even asked if I could come live with them, and of course that was met with a quick no. Right now, we were at Rei's apartment, gathering together her clothes, books, and other random objects she had. She's been extremely quiet, with good reason, the entire time. Even so, there was a steady stream of tears running down her face up to the last minute. We tried stalling as long as we possibly could, which only killed about two hours. At one point, without a word, we sat down in that large chair one last time and just held each other. Somehow, I wasn't crying – I didn't even feel as if I needed to cry. I was just so dumbstruck by this whole ordeal that my mind couldn't comprehend it just yet… but I knew it would eventually.

"Shinji…" she looks up at me with beat-red eyes, "Don't make me go… don't let them take me…" did she have to say that? She knew there was nothing I could do.

"Rei, I'm sorry, but you know that you don't have a choice. Listen, I'll visit whenever I can. At least you'll be staying in Japan, right?" that was extremely sugar-coated, to say the least. Sure, it was in the same country, but it might as well be on the other side of the planet. She'll be moving to Fukuoka, a city about five-hundred miles away. I would be able to go down there once a month at best, and somehow I doubt we can hold a relationship like that.

"Shinji, you don't understand, I CAN'T go with them. They took me away when I was ten and brought me back later on… I just can't go back with them…" she once again begins crying into my shoulder. I allowed her to let out emotions as long as she wanted – which turned out to be a little under half an hour. She finally looks up at me with a completely blank face, aside from the red eyes and tears, "Let's go."

"Are you sure you're ready to leave? You can wait here a little while longer if you want," I know I wanted to… I wasn't even close to being ready.

"No, I mean let's just go. Leave. We could go back to the island, they'll never find us. We could live in Zaroff's house, we could live there forever," by the time I cut in, she was speaking a million words a second.

"Rei, just stop. You saw how much we went through on that island, I don't trust that there's nothing else dangerous. Please, don't make this any harder than it already is," she stands up, knowing that I was right.

"Let's just get this over with…" I grab her bags, then her hand, and head out to the car that we saw pull up recently. The ride home was nothing short of nauseating. The minute we sit down in the car, she brings me into a soft, gentle kiss that only lasted for a few seconds. She put her hands on either side of my face and she began talking to me, "Shinji… I'm not going to hold you down… it's over. It's not fair for you to be with a girl half a country away… I love you so much, but I just can't do this," I swear, it felt as if I was going to pass out right then.

"Rei, we can make this work, we just have to be dedicated," she simply shakes her head, "But… what about…" she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Just forget about it… I'm sorry for making that promise, but remember, I did, and still do, want to marry you. I just know it's not going to happen now… just leave it alone… please," with that, she let go of me and moved as far to the side as possible without falling out of the car.

"I'll get you home, I promise," finally the tears begin to roll. From that point on, we barely said a word to each other… it was driving me insane. All this because her parents want her back for no reason? My life is literally falling apart, and it's all for such a meaningless excuse. When we finally get to the airport, Rei almost instantly gets up and begins to walk away with her bag without so much as a 'goodbye' to me. Her parents were waiting in front of a plane not too unlike the one we crashed in, with those blank, uncaring faces on, as Rei walked towards them. I leaped out of the car, ran up and hugged her from behind, "I love you Rei… so much…" all she does is put her hand on mine.

"I love you too," she took a short pause, but it seemed like eternity to me, "If you ever get the chance, look me up, okay?" with a final peck on the lips, she turns around and follows her parents onto the plane. That was the first time that I cried over this issue, and I just couldn't stop for hours. I wasn't sobbing or anything, I just couldn't stop the tears from coming, no matter what I did. I went home directly after leaving her, laid in my bed where she was earlier and just stared at the ceiling, tears falling onto the pillow here and there.

Asuka got home shortly after I did, knowing exactly what happened, and began to rant that she didn't get to say goodbye… that is, before she saw my condition. With a quick apology, she took her place in the room opposite of mine and closed the door – for once not slamming it. My mind was scattered with useless thoughts on how to get Rei back, or at least for me to see her; flying there, running away and going to her, all extremely unrealistic circumstances. The fact was that she was gone and for once, there was nothing I could do to help her… and it was literally driving me insane. I've always been the one there to help her through things and fix them as best as I could, but this time I couldn't do either one. Hell, I couldn't even get myself under control, let alone help her in any way.

"Shinji…" I turn my head to see Asuka, now in her house clothes, "I'm really sorry about all of this," she sat on the edge of the bed next to me, "Really," causing me to jump a little out of instinct around her, she leans down and hugs me. Unsure of how to act, I copy the action, "We'll get her back eventually, okay?" I simply nod, not really believing it myself, "That wasn't a yes or no question," she leans back up and smiles down at me with a slightly cocky look on her face, "That was an 'of course' question!" I tried to force out even a fake smile, but I just couldn't, "You're taking this hard, aren't you?" I still kept silent, "Well, you obviously don't want to talk right now, but if you need anything, just come get me, okay? I don't care if it's four in the morning, if you need to talk, I'll listen," with that, she got up and once again disappeared behind her room's door.

A/N – Okay, I know this chapter is short, which I'll make up in a few seconds. I wanted to end it right there because I knew that there wasn't going to be another good ending point any time soon, and since forced endings are crap, I don't want to push it. So yeah, you all know the deal, find out what happens in the next chapter, Back To School; until then, keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – Since this was so short, I'm going to include one of my boredom-induced pieces from school that I wrote during a lecture about… the multiple alleles I think… anyway, here it is. No real title, but it's based off of an Iron Maiden song called Dance Of Death. If you haven't heard it, please check it out at YouTube, and try to find the CD version, not the live version. No lyrics needed, you can understand him perfectly. So yeah, on with it!

We were all gathered around a campfire as I told all of the children a story that was sure to chill their bones. Every single one of their faces were staring at me, compelled on all words that came out of my mouth.

"It was the middle of the night when it happened… I was drinking, rambling on and enjoying myself in the Florida Everglades. I fell back onto the soft grass and stared up at the stars for awhile, but little did I know something was watching my every move. It ran to me and took me to an unholy place, and that is where I lost my sanity. The group summoned me over to join in with them to the dance of the dead. They lead me to the middle of the circle, and I was numb with fear," one of the children rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and last night you told us that you were abducted by an alien named Eddie. Get over yourself!" after being pushed off his seat by the other children, I continued.

"Where was I… oh yes. Even though I was scared out of my mind, I still wanted to go for some reason. They put me in some kind of trance as I saw my own spirit being lifted from me. Eventually, I began to dance and prance with them, as if we were long time friends, but I soon noticed something… they all had death in their eyes. They were undead, all of them! They had ascended from hell, I swear on my life. My spirit was laughing at me, still under the influence of the drinks, as my undead body was still dancing. Suddenly, my spirit leaped back down at me, reuniting us both. I wasn't sure until later if I was alive or dead, but I did know that I had to get away. Simply by luck, two of the lifeless dolls got into a skirmish and their gaze left me. Without hesitating, I fled. I ran like hell, the wind trying to keep up with me, and I never dared to look back," I finished my story, leaving all the children with smiles on their faces. They spoke among themselves for a little while before I once again cut in. "To this day I still don't know why they let me go, but I'll never go dancing again, until I dance with the dead… so basically what I'm trying to say here is this; when you're lying in your lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed, and you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead, remember that you may not come back."

A/N – Hope you enjoyed that little passage. Wasn't exactly my best work, but hey, it's there. See you all later!


	8. Back To School

Chapter 8: Back To School

A/N – Back to school, back to school, gonna show my dad that I'm not a fool… gotta love Adam Sandler! Anyway, you'll need this little part, so don't just forget it. Anything in _italics _will be an IM over the computer.

5:30 AM - Streets

I had to force myself out of bed today so I could go to school… okay, so Asuka forced me. If I had my way, I would still be in bed sulking, but because of her, I'm outside sulking. I didn't sleep a wink last night, even though I was tired out of my mind. I couldn't keep my eyes open to save my life, but at the same time, no matter what I tried I just couldn't get to sleep. This was for an obvious reason, of course. Asuka was oddly chipper today, and unlike the usual, she was walking next to me. Last year she would damn near be on the other side of the street or a block behind me, but today she was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with me.

"You excited to see the stooges again? Personally, I hate school, but I can't wait to see everyone again! Hell, even you must be a little excited!" I honestly couldn't care less right now. It wouldn't be as bad if I didn't know that I would have to explain to everyone where she is. People were so used to seeing us together that I would get asked where Rei was when she was just in the bathroom, let alone half a country away. I thought about just going and ditching as soon as I get out of Asuka's sight, but really, where would I go? I wouldn't be able to make it home before I was picked up by a cop, and if I stayed at the school Asuka would surely find me.

"Sure, whatever," she slaps the back of my head, "What the hell was that for?!" that was the first sign of emotion I've had in quite awhile, but why shouldn't I be mad?!

"Listen, I know you're still upset about Rei, but really, stop being so damn emotional about it! We'll get her back eventually, I promise, but for now, you really have to stop all of this. If you don't want people in your face all day about how sad you look, I suggest at least trying to look decent," I think I lost it a little too much when she finished.

"Shut the hell up Asuka! You may not miss her, but I do! I couldn't care less what you say about me, but I'm not going to just forget about her like you!" I was immediately met with a slap to the face, forcing my head to the side.

"You think I forgot about her? I almost died for her you son of a bitch! While I was being taken care of by cannibals, all you could think of was fucking her! So you can quit the act now Shinji, you got what you wanted, you don't have to try and lie to me!" with a certain bird making an appearance, I storm off ahead of her. How could she say that? It would have never even happened if Rei didn't initiate it! I couldn't have cared less if I slept with her or not, I would still stay with her! She's just having problems of her own because she can't hold a relationship long enough to walk home with someone, and yet she's known as the class whore. Sure, as far as I know she's a virgin, but that doesn't take away from the fact that she's dated everyone in the neighborhood! When I finally got to school I was semi-calm compared to earlier, but still fuming. Unfortunately, the first set of people I ran into was Hikari hanging onto Toji's arm. Apparently they're back together… again.

"Ikari! Hey! Where have you been man?!" leaving Hikari behind, he came up to greet me, but I just kept my straight line, bumping shoulders with him. I didn't even acknowledge his existence, and honestly, I didn't care, "Damn, someone's on the rag."

"Shinji, are you okay?" Hikari grabbed my hand as I was walking by, making me stop.

"Hikari, I'm sorry, not right now," yanking my hand away, I continue on my way to homeroom. Outside of the silent teacher, I was the only one in the room. The second I opened my laptop I saw at least twenty assignments I missed over the last month and a half… apparently they knew I was coming. Great welcome back to school…

---

10:00 AM

After my thirty-second game of solitaire, I was finally beginning to become bored of the game and constantly exiting Toji and Hikari's messages. Hikari was in the same class as me, in fact, she was right in front of me, but Toji was across the hall. Hikari, being the perfect student she is, wouldn't dare to turn around and look at me, so for now I was safe from any human contact.

"_Shinji, you there?_" without looking at the username, automatically assuming that it was either Hikari or Toji, I finally respond.

"_For the third time, I don't want to talk damn it! Take a fucking hint!_" assuming that my message would scare them off, I lean back in my chair slightly… that is, until another message pops up.

"_Shinji, it's me. I take it that you're having problems of your own?_" I yelp a little as I look at the username, which read 'shinjis-blue'. Ever since we started dating, she changed her username to that cute little phrase, while I changed mine to a simple 'reis'.

"_REI?!_"

"_Yeah, I was able to use my dad's computer for a few hours. How are you doing?_" Jesus, she has no idea… well, I would assume she does, but at the time that's what I felt. Selfish, yes, but none the less true.

"_… horrible_" I waited for a few seconds before typing another message, "_You?_"

"_I've been better… but at least I found a way to speak with you, right?_" my eyes got slightly glassy right then, but I quickly brushed it off, "_I've got some good news though. __Wanna__ guess?_"

"_You're hiring a __hitman_" she sent a short 'lol' over the messenger, "_But really, what?_"

"_I'm coming back in a year. I was trying to find a loophole in my contract with NERV and I got it. It says that my parents can only keep me for the amount of time that they had me before they left me with NERV, which was a year. I can come back as long as NERV wants me to, but if Gendo doesn't do anything about it, we're out of luck,_" I'm sure that I was pale as a ghost at that point, but I knew for sure that my hands were shaking to the point that it was difficult to type.

"_You'rw__ciming__ back/_"

"_Wow, having trouble there Shinji? But yeah, I have to go, sorry. He's back and-_" the message ended there. I didn't worry about it too much, mainly because I was damn excited about her coming back! Sure, it was eight months, but hell, I don't care!

"Mr. Ikari! I know that you were just enrolled in this class, but please refrain from 'chatting' on the school's computer!" slumping down in my seat slightly, I close the laptop and focus my eyes on the whiteboard.

"Sorry…" the day went on as normal from there on out. Asuka was literally on the other side of the school, so I doubt I'll be seeing much of her at all during school, but I did have lunch with Hikari, Toji, and an American girl named Melinda.

Well, she was FROM America, but she was half Laos and half Finnish. Even with her Asian side, she had the whitest accent a person could possibly have. Her face was the perfect mix of the best traits from both of her heritages. Her eyes were slits, that of an Asian, but her face was that of a typical 'white girl'. Puffy lips, bright smile, the typical magazine-inspired look. Her hair and eyes were the exact same shade of brown, and her hair itself was pencil straight, outside of the slight curl at the ends. She had a very geometric haircut – very much how Rei's used to be – but she had extremely long bangs. While her bangs were grown the same way the goth kids of the school had it, she would always have them to the side, never hiding her face. I have to admit, she was quite a knockout compared to the rest of the girls here.

"Shinji Ikari… where have I heard that name before?" She just moved here from Nevada last year, and her Japanese was still a little shaken, but it was good enough.

"You know that giant purple robot with anorexia? Yeah, he drove it," as Toji so blandly put it.

"Really now? That's pretty cool," she was the first person to write of my piloting as nothing more than a talent or hobby… and I loved it! The first person to not jump all over me just for piloting! "So, tell me something about yourself that I don't know."

"Well… there's nothing really interesting to tell. Outside of the whole piloting thing, I live a pretty boring life."

"Oh come on, nothing? Anything you did over the summer? Brothers? Sisters? You dating anyone? Give me something here!" and there was Toji's cue… he puts his hand on my shoulder and gets that cocky look on his face.

"Shinji here is dating someone that you could call a caterpillar! You see, she was one of the quietist people you could possibly meet. She wouldn't talk outside of when she had to, but ever since the Angels died off, she came out of her cocoon and became quite the butterfly! Instead of always wearing school clothes, she started dressing like everyone else, and just around this time is when Shinji here nabbed her!"

"How long were you up last night setting up that little speech?" Hikari took another bite of food as she spoke.

"Three in the morning!" he actually said that with some pride.

"Very poetic… stupid…" the conversation drifted from me as time went on, and crossing over a few other subjects, including how terrible the lunch was and Melinda herself. Melinda kept quiet most of the time, even when we were talking about her. She was a little bit of a flirt, giving me a look I've never really seen before on anyone every now and then. Just as lunch was ending, she began to speak to me alone after Toji and Hikari left.

"So, where's this Rei I heard about? She's your girlfriend right? Shouldn't she be here with you?" we begin to walk into our homeroom, which is about two minutes away.

"Well… actually, she's going to be gone for most of the school year, but she'll be back eventually. Just some family issues, you know how it is," I thought that I handled that fairly well, right?

"And you're going to wait for her? Wow, that's dedication right there! Most guys I know would just move on to the next girl! Really Shinji, that's great. So, what's she like? All I heard was Toji's little speech, and that wasn't too good," I have to admit, this girl is pretty cool.

"Well, she's a little bit taller than you, same type of hair, but it goes down to her mid-back. Her skin tone is fairly light, but she did get a little tan over the summer. As Toji said, she used to be extremely quiet, but she's definitely opened up a lot since last year. Oh, hold on, I have a picture here somewhere," I started carrying a picture of us together near the end of the year simply because she wanted me to, but it turns out this'll be my only way of 'seeing' her until she comes back. I pull out the picture of us which has been commented as 'cute', and hand it to Melinda. It was a simple picture we took at the mall in one of those booths, which was ridiculously expensive by the way. I had my arm around her shoulders, and our heads were tilted towards each other, both of up with a wide smile.

"You two are cute together! Can't wait to meet her," she hands the picture back to me as we enter the room, "My user name is 'moonxsparkles', send me a message, we can talk," completely forgetting what my new teacher commanded earlier, I do as I was told. Soon enough, I see her user name and send her a message, remembering to turn off the sound.

---

Outside of School – 3:00 PM

Oddly enough, Melinda and I have really gotten close… well, as close as a solid day of talking could get you. She's a pretty unique girl compared to the normal stereotypes. While she's not really a 'tom-boy', she's not one of those girly people either. She shows traits of both; she trains in kick boxing, but at the same time she goes to get a pedicure every weekend. I was also fairly surprised at how quickly she opened up to me. Shortly before school let out, she told me all the problems that she's had with her parents, what went on with her as a child, and some information that is just better kept private. I can't say that I didn't see it coming though; for some reason, people just seem to open up to me, whether they like me or not. It was obvious to everyone around that Melinda was flirting with me here and there, but I think she'll respect the fact that I have a girlfriend… I hope. Hell, I don't even know why she IS flirting with me; not exactly like I'm a prime catch.

I have yet to come across Asuka, so for the time being I was just with Melinda, Hikari and Toji. To be honest, I couldn't care less right now if she does show up… but eventually, I'll have to go home to THAT. Without Misato there, we'll be bickering twenty-four-seven… damn it… I was brought out of my self-loathing by Toji pointing out the obvious.

"Oh yeah, Shinji, what's up with the tan? You look black!" both Hikari and Melinda give him that look all girls have that just screams 'idiot'.

"Damn… listen, I don't want to tell the whole story right now, but me and Rei were stuck on an island for four months. The plane that was taking us to our vacation spot crashed, and we ended up there," they all just look at me with wide eyes, "Where did you think I was? Didn't you think it was weird that I didn't call anyone?"

"Well yeah, but I thought you were just busy," you know, Toji really is an idiot at times.

"For four months? Come on now, be realistic. Oh yeah, Toji, next time you see Asuka just say 'how was the meat?', okay? I'll tell you why later," with a small chuckle, I simply walk away from the small group, seeing as my apartment was in the opposite direction of where they lived. I knew that I would have to deal with Asuka when I got home, but honestly, I couldn't care less. All I knew was that Rei was coming back; sure, it wasn't any time soon, but she IS coming back, that's a certainty.

---

10:00 PM

Oddly enough, Asuka didn't come in as a raging bull after school today. She just threw her backpack on the sofa and sat in front of the TV for a few hours, then retreated into that dungeon she calls a room. I made dinner for the first time since I got home for myself… it was also the first time I didn't cook for two other people. If Asuka would have asked me for some food, I would have given it to her, but she's just been in that room the entire time, so I assumed that she either didn't want to communicate with me or was asleep by that point. I think that Pen-Pen knew what happened to Misato, because he's been following me around all night, and right now he was sitting in my lap as I was messing around on the computer.

The thought of Rei messaging me again was in the back of my mind, but I was mainly playing a few games here and there, listening to music, and reading short passages about myself NERV fanatics have written, most of which were completely wrong. Just as I was getting up to go to bed, I was pulled back down by a light 'ding', signaling an IM from the exact person I wanted it to be from.

"_Sorry about cutting it off so quickly today,_" I couldn't help but smile as I saw her text.

"_Don't worry about it. You __gonna__ have time to talk this time?_"

"_Yeah, they're both asleep (thank god),_" I couldn't put my finger on it, but something wasn't really right about her writing tone. I know it sounds odd, but she was just acting odd, even though she's only sent two messages. Something about the blandness of her writing was unsettling.

"_How was your day outside of having to deal with them? Did you make any new friends at school?_" just then, I realized that she said she was using her father's computer when she messaged me the first time, "_Wait, did you even go to school?_"

"_No, I woke up with a bad stomach ache. I think because all I ate for all that time was the same meat and vegetables, my body got used to it, and then I ate a salad for dinner… bad idea,_" I know it was mean, but I chuckled a little at her comment, "_What about you?_"

"_I met a new girl named Melinda,_" rule number one: never tell your girlfriend about a new girl you met while she's away, "_I think she's a lesbian, but she's pretty nice,_" good save… okay, not really, but it's all I could come up with.

"_That's it? A class full of people and that's all you met? You really need to be more social Shinji,_" that odd tone I noticed before was gone, and I was starting to feel more comfortable.

"_I know, you told me before, remember? Hey, at least I met someone, right?_"

"_Yeah, I guess…_" about a minute passes without either of us saying anything. I wasn't talking because I just didn't have anything to say, but she wasn't talking for a completely different reason, "_Are you sure you want me to come back?_"

"_What? Of course I do! Don't you?_" where did that come from?

"_Yeah, but… I'm just not sure I need to come back. I mean, I would only come back for you, everyone else I don't really care about, but if you don't want me there I won't._"

"_Rei, come on now, of course I want you back! I can't wait for it actually,_" once again, a short pause of messages.

"_No matter what happens__ you want me back, right? You promise?_" where is all this coming from? Maybe the time period is a little too long for her.

"_I promise. Now stop thinking that I don't want you back, I don't care how long it takes, I'll wait,_" I can see how she would be worried. A lot could happen in a year, of course, but nothing that would ruin our relationship.

"_Okay… thanks…_" I could have sworn that I felt her smiling right then.

A/N – Not a very eventful chapter, but it was a builder for later chapters. Let's see… Melinda came into the picture, Asuka probably wants to kill Shinji, Toji and Hikari are together again, and Rei is a little depressed… what's new? Find out exactly what was being built up to in the next chapter; Passing On, until then, keep on keepin' on! (long chapter next!)

A/A/N – Okay, I forgot what a few of the characters looked like, so I image searched them on Google, and now I have a question… what exactly is on Pen-Pen's back?


	9. Passing On

Chapter 9: Passing On

A/N – Still looking for a proofreader

Outside of School – 6:00 AM – Seven Months Later

Outside of the absents of Rei, life has been generally normal; Asuka and I always bickering, the on and off relationships of Toji and Hikari, the common school drama, and the rare NERV meetings. I've only spoken with Rei once since that night, and it was over two months ago. I didn't really think anything of it; she did say that she wasn't really allowed on the computer, so it's just a matter of time before she's on again. Melinda made a move on me about a month ago, and obviously I denied her, but we're still pretty close friends. We were at the movies with the normal group, and I was sitting next to the Finnish girl when she grabbed my hand and went in for a peck on the cheek. When I pulled back, she was extremely embarrassed, claiming that she thought I felt the same way, but I just dropped it and we haven't really spoken about it since, though she does still always walk and sit next to me. I don't mind though, whatever she wants is fine with me as long as she doesn't impose. I mean, why break her heart even more, right?

I sent Rei a letter yesterday; it wasn't anything important, it was just me talking about what's going on in my side of the country. Hey, if we can't speak over the computer, why not through normal mail? She should have it by now, seeing as the mailing service is extremely fast, and knowing her, I'll have a reply by tomorrow. From what she told me last time we spoke, she's grown used to her parents, but not accustomed. What they do don't really bother her anymore, at least that's what she says. I'm not entirely convinced, I know that she's dying to come home, and I also know that she's not telling me everything. I try not to think about it though, I know that we're more than half way to our destination… we'll get there eventually.

I haven't seen my typical group since I got here, and seeing as classes don't start for another half hour, I'm left standing out here looking like a complete idiot. It took a good ten minutes before Melinda came into sight, who was walking with a fairly fast pace towards the school. Of course, I was the first person she approached.

"Hey Shinji, sorry I'm late, my alarm didn't go off this morning. Where's Toji and Hikari?" probably off making out somewhere…

"No idea. Why were you running? We still have twenty minutes," she lets out a small laugh through her panting.

"I know, but I hate being even on time. To me, ten minutes early is on time, you know? How long have you been here?" just like her…

"Since six. You want to go grab some breakfast before school starts?" her eyes lit up slightly as she nodded and we began to walk off. Seriously, this girl needs a boyfriend… badly. Of course, after meeting her father, I doubt that will happen for a very long time. He's the old military dog type of guy, and he's absolutely insanely protective of his daughter. I just went over to drop off her forgotten backpack one day and he actually told me that she wasn't allowed to date. Sure, that's a little creepy, but she loves him, so he must be doing something right.

For the third day in a row, I bought Melinda's meal. It seems like she's always forgetting her lunch money… it's actually getting a little annoying. Not like it matters to me, NERV gives me enough money for school each month to get me through college. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to think that Melinda is looking too deep into things again… not like it can be helped. She knows that I'm waiting for Rei, so there's nothing she can do. Time passes, Hikari and Toji join us, classes start, and my nap begins. Sleeping has become more of a tradition in my classes than anything else to be honest. I've always had decent grades, even while sleeping, so I don't see the harm in it… that is, until the teacher whacks me in the back of the head with his yard stick. Now sitting straight up at staring at a blank computer screen, I begin to fall asleep before I was once again brought out of my drowsiness by a low female voice over the intercom.

"Excuse me? Can you send Shinji Ikari to the office? His father is here to pick him up," right then, I fall out of my seat. He actually came to pick me up?! Sure, it's most likely for some NERV crap, but normally he sends his henchmen to do it! Ah crap… that means I have to be in the same car as him…

"Surely. Shinji, take your things. You'll have to make up the test tomorrow," I was out of the room before he even finished. I was excited out of my mind with two things; for one, I get out of the asshole's class. Second… I get out of school period! Hell, I couldn't care less that he's here to pick me up, I gave up on begging for his attention a long time ago. When I finally get to the office, I see Gendo standing in front of the main desk with a fairly frightened looking woman behind it.

"About time you got here. Let's go," without even making eye contact with me, he begins to walk out of the room quickly, leaving me behind, slightly confused. Following after him, I see that he has a small bounce in his step that I've never seen before. I couldn't tell at the moment if this was a good or bad thing, but it was a little amusing to watch this new 'attitude' of his. The walk seemed as if it lasted years, but in fact it was no more than a hundred yards. Oddly enough, he drove himself here instead of taking the limo like he normally does… and I have to say, for the commander of NERV, his car is a piece of crap! It was a Toyota Prius – about the most feminine car you can buy, I'd like to add – and it had to be from at least 1998. Rust laced the rims, a long crack crossed through the windshield, and a long laundry list of other mishaps.

"Get in, we need to talk," doing as I was told, he immediately revs the engine to life and begins to pull out of the parking lot, "Shinji, do you know how old I am?"

"Uh… fifty, I think. Why?" as if he even know how old I was…

"Forty-nine, actually… now, would you call that old?"

"Well, no, but you're not exactly the image of youth, either. As if you know how old I am…" he cuts in directly after my sentence's end.

"You turned sixteen precisely one month and a week ago… while on the island. Tell me, what did you do for your birthday? You must have known that it was at least near your birthday. Did you have a decent meal? Did you and Rei celebrate it at all?" he turns his eyes to meet mine without even budging his head, "Even a little bit?"

"Well, we went up to this lake we found, but that's it. Why?" his eyes drift back onto the road as the car drifts into another lane.

"No reason at all… one more question. Would you like to live with me from tomorrow on?" I swear to God, I vomited in my own mouth just from surprise, "I will be resigning from NERV soon… okay, more like being fired. A full year without angels has convinced the government to throw in the towel, which means I will be moving out of the base and into an actual home… are you feeling okay?" I must have been white as flour, "Think it over. Until then," the car comes to a stop, "Go to my office. You know where it is. I have to run some errands, I'll meet up with you later."

"O-Okay…" my knees shaking, I get out of the car and begin to walk to the large building, completely forgetting my backpack, "What the bloody hell man…"

---

A Few Minutes Later – Outside of Gendo's Office

After recovering from the extreme shock, I decide to go into his office as instructed, where I was sure there'd be a huge April fool's party awaiting. I open the door to see his large leather chair behind that plain black desk in the middle of a huge empty room. The chair was turned away from the door, blocking the view from whoever was in it, but it was obvious someone was in it due to the occasional rocking.

"Gendo, this was a hell of a long way to go for a bad joke," by now I was standing directly in front of the desk, and the leather chair was slowly turning to me. My eyes widen and my heart sinks at the sight of a widely smiling, blue-haired girl.

"Hey there stranger," the voice that I haven't heard from in more than half a year finally rings through my ears, making my eyes tear up, "You're not going to say anything?" her facial expression changes to a jokingly annoyed one.

"… Rei…?"

"No, it's Freddy Mercury. I've come to ride my bicycle. Yes it's me!" my eyes drift down her body, ensuring that this was real… which was when I noticed her holding something covered in a blue blanket, "I've… got something you may or may not like… before I show you, promise that you won't freak out!"

"Depends," I finally catch my cool, "What's in the blanket?"

"Just… don't scream, okay? It took me forever to get her like this…" before I could even contemplate her sentence, I see her pull back the blue blanket to reveal a very small, newborn baby sleeping in her arms, "I gave birth a few days ago… I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you Shinji, but I didn't want you to worry," she still had a small smile on her face… which was the last thing I saw before I fell backwards, blacking out, "And there he goes."

---

A Few Minutes Later

"Oh get up, she's cute and you know it," I leap up my torso, still sitting down, and look up at Rei still holding what I hope was a doll, "About time. Now get up, we have to talk," she once again takes a seat in the leather chair as I stay standing, "I didn't tell you because I knew that you would be freaking the hell out, and I didn't want to put that on you, but now we both have to deal with this," I begin to slowly walk to her, "I don't expect you to stay with me, but I do expect you to help me," I lean down and take her into a soft, yet embracing hug.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you gave birth…" she puts her arm on my back, still using the other one to hold the baby's head up, and I start to feel tears forming in my eyes, "And of course I still want to be with you," leaning back up, I smile down at her.

"Thanks…" we both look down at the sleeping baby. Her hair was a dark blue, darker than Rei's, and many of her facial features were obviously mine, "Beautiful, isn't she?" all I could manage was a nod… that is, until I remembered something.

"Wait… I thought you were sterile?"

"Well obviously not. I mean really, my body makes absolutely no sense at all; I've never gone through any kind of monthly cycle, and yet I still got pregnant… so, you're not freaked out at all?" well of course I am! Jesus, I'm scared out of my mind! How am I going to support this kid?

"A little," you lying WHORE! "But we'll be fine. Have you named her yet?" the fact that I'm a father still hasn't set in, but I know that I'm in some seriously deep shit.

"Of course not, you deserve a say in this," it feels as if she's taking this really lightly… of course, she had all this time to get used to it, "I want it to be something special though. In case you didn't notice the time frame, I gave birth a month early, and she wasn't supposed to live through it. Hell, even I had some trouble because of my age, but everything turned out fine," without missing a beat, I cut in.

"What about Mika? I heard that name a little while ago on TV and I really liked it. What about you?" she begins to stand up as she speaks.

"Hm… not bad… I kind of like it actually, but for now, we really need to talk," not too sure where she was planning on going, she leads me out of the room, "This is obviously nothing to take lightly, but I've grown used to the idea by now. What's going through your head?"

"Well, I'm still a little stricken by the whole thing, I still can't believe it, but I'm fine with it. I'm sure NERV could help us out somehow, you know? I'm not going to lie though, I'm scared out of my mind… we have a freaking baby! Seriously Rei, how are we going to raise her? We're still kids ourselves!" all she does is let out a little chuckle.

"Have I ever told you that you're cute when you're flustered? But don't worry about it, I looked into it, NERV will take care of anything she needs as long as we still work there," yeah, that's nice and all, but…

"Yeah… about that… NERV is going under. We can't rely on them anymore," she stops walking and goes pale.

"You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking!" and finally, the small child in Rei's arms opens her eyes to show a brilliant shade of light blue… where the hell did she get that from? "How are we going to support her?" she was right, we are in a serious bind. The first thought would be to drop out of high school, but as of last year it became illegal to drop out until you're eighteen.

"Well, Gendo might help us out, but… Jesus, I don't know…" it was really starting to set in for us at this point, "Look, we'll find a way," I look down at the girl to see her staring at me with a seemingly interested face, "So… did you give a natural birth or a C-section?" a little random, sure, but I had to pull away from the dreariness of this conversation. Rei gives me a sweet smile before replying.

"It was natural. I wouldn't let them do a C-section on me for two reasons; one, even though it makes birthing easier, there is a LOT of pain afterwards. In natural births all the pain is at once and there isn't much afterwards outside of the stitches," there are stitches involved? "And two, I didn't want the scar," she lets out a small chuckle, "Oh, you want to hold her? She seems pretty interested with you," of course, she was still staring at me, "Here, just make sure you support her head," slowly and extremely awkwardly, I take my daughter from Rei, and she immediately begins to squirm in my arms.

"Um… maybe you should take her," without a word, Rei places her hand on the baby's head and gently strokes her hair, almost immediately calming her down, "Or not…" even though according to her it's only been a few days, she's already got this mothering thing down pretty well.

"See, it's all about making her feel safe. If she doesn't feel that way for even a second, this whole thing will just go down hill," I look up at her with a raised eyebrow, "Okay, so I read a few books, sue me."

---

Apartment – 1:00 PM

We got a ride home from one of the NERV employees, which turned out to be a pretty huge mistake. Seeing as he knew his job was basically down the drain, he was acting extremely out of character for the normally formal aura around these people. Instead of the typical uniform, he was in a t-shirt and jeans, and the speech was replaced with a crude, rude style of conversation. We dealt with it until we got to what we thought was home and immediately sat down on the sofa. I was still holding the now sleeping baby, but Rei motioned me to hand her off.

"I need you to do something for me. All of my bags were dropped off here earlier today, but after I thought about it, there are no free rooms in here. I mean, there's Misato's room, but that's the master bedroom. I don't want that whole room to myself," like it mattered. I'm guessing that she would want the baby in with her, so why not have the bigger room?

"It's fine, just take it. Where are your bags? I'll go set everything up for you," after pointing to my room, I take her three bags into Misato's room. The distinct smell of beer and Alka-Seltzer filled her room as always. Of course, the smell brought back more than enough bad memories, bringing a tear to my eye. I quickly brushed it away and went back to work. Luckily, Misato had nothing but NERV uniforms, a few dresses and night clothes, so taking out all of her things took no more than a few minutes. Rei's things on the other hand… I knew how anal she was about… well, everything, so I had to be sure to set it up so everything had its place. Using the fairly large dresser at my disposal, each piece of clothing got its own drawer. Unlike most girls of her age, she only had a couple pairs of shoes, each one with a specific job; work, casual, or dress. I set all of them to the side of the dresser, change the sheets on the bed, and finish picking up random beer cans and clothing off the floor, "Hopefully I got everything right…" I walk back out into the living room and damn near pass out simply from surprise. Sure, it's natural to breast feed, and sure, it's not like I haven't seen it all before, but still! A little warning would be nice! Hell, I'm only sixteen, things like this still come as a huge surprise to me!"Rei… did you have to do that now…?"

"You act like it's my choice! Look, if she's hungry she eats, end of story… that is, unless you want to try and tell a week old baby that right now isn't a good time to eat," good point, "And plus, this is way easier than buying the milk, so get used to it; it'll be her main source of food for a good seven months," I couldn't help but steal a glance at the exposed skin, "And I'll pretend I didn't see that."

"As if I can help it!" she may understand everything around her, but she surely doesn't understand the male brain. Trying to avoid another mishap, I make my way to my room and change into casual clothes. Soon after finishing, I realize that I didn't unpack any baby clothes… what exactly was she wearing? From what I saw, all she has is the single coverall… Rei must have a bag I don't know about. Opening my closet to put away my backpack, I see a fold-up plastic crib… well that just made things way easier. I take out the crib, throw my pillow inside of it along with a thin blanket and roll it out into the living room.

"Oh, you found it, great. She always sleeps after eating," casually setting the drowsy baby inside the crib, she looks up at me with a small amount of sadness in her face, "I'm… really sorry Shinji… are you sure that you still want me here? I can go back if you want me to…" I put my hands on her shoulders and peck her on the lips for the first time in more than half a year.

"Stop thinking like that, really. We're going to be fine, okay? No, it won't be easy, but we can get through this. Hell, if we can make it through the damn island we can take care of a baby!" through her pathetic looking eyes, she forces a smile, "And of course I want you here," we sit back down on the sofa, "I don't want you ever thinking that I don't want you here. You have no idea how happy I am that you're back, it's just with all that's going on I'm a little shell-shock, you know?" she once again smiles and nods.

"Can… can we just sit here for awhile?" I put my arm around her shoulders and, as always, she lays her head on my chest, "Thanks…" after nuzzling her face into my shirt, she closes her eyes and relaxes every muscle in her body.

Rei really hasn't changed much since I last saw her outside of her skin tone once again paling and returning to its natural tone. Her hair was once again grown out slightly, now reaching her mid-back. I have to admit, I like her with longer hair than that geometrical style she had before; with short hair, I just couldn't see her hair shine like it does now. With this long, flat plane of shining hair, it almost looks like silk. I jump slightly after once again looking at her face, my eyes catching a small scar under her right eye. It was so faint that it's obvious why I missed it before, but up close it's extremely apparent.

"What happened to your eye?" she let out a sigh while keeping her eyes closed.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice that… look, I just got hurt, can we leave it at that?"

"No, what happened," by the depressed tone in her voice, I knew something serious went on.

"You weren't wondering why I came home so early? See, I didn't show pregnancy until my sixth month, but I knew about it since the second month. Once I started showing it, my father was… to say the least, unaccepting. Every time I would do something wrong he would either go on a rant that lasted for hours or… you can guess the rest," by now, my eyes were wide as dinner plates and my hands were shaking slightly, "One day, he backhanded me and I fell. On the way down I hit my head on a table, and I got that. I only came back because one of my friends found out and called in child protective services," my head was racing with a room-full of emotions, but the one that dominated was obviously anger.

"Do you have any more?"

"Can we just drop this? It's no big deal, I'm back, that's all that matters," I force her to look at me, and she sees the seriousness in my face, "There's one on my right shoulder blade, but that's it… on that one he threw a bottle at me when I turned around during a fight. I'm fine though, really. Listen, I just want to relax for now, we can talk about this later if you still want to, okay?" that's a certainty.

---

Same Place – 3:30 PM

"What the hell?!" I was quickly brought out of my short-lived sleep from a screaming Asuka, and shaken by Rei who jumped out of shock, "What… what the hell is going on here?!"

"Jesus, stop screaming, you'll wake her up," Rei rubs her eyes as she speaks, "Long story short; I'm back, we have a baby, and you're still loud. Any questions?" yeah, that's one thing I found out about Rei when we were on the island; she is NOT a person to mess with after any period of sleep.

"A baby…? You act like this is no big deal! Why are you even back this early?" she looks inside the crib and only becomes paler.

"Of course it's a big deal, but there's really nothing we can do about it, so why freak out? And I just convinced my parents to let me come back, don't worry about it. Look, you really need to calm down, I don't want Mika to wake up," what did she just say?

"Mika…? Damn it you two… what did you get yourselves into?" that was the first time I've heard her truly concerned about someone else… well, aside from that one night… "And Shinji, what are you going to do about that one girl? Somehow I doubt that she'll be okay with you having a baby with another girl!" what the hell is she talking about? Melinda? We're not even dating, why should it matter?

"Other girl?" Rei sends a glare my way that could even make Asuka shake, "You're dating another girl? We didn't talk for a few months and you start that crap?" thanks a lot Asuka… really…

"No, it's not like that! She wants to date me, but I never said yes. Asuka's not even in the same side of the school as me, she doesn't know!" her look somewhat subsides, but it was still present.

"What's her name?" I just keep silent, which turned out to be a mistake, "I asked you a question!"

"Melinda, but it doesn't matter, we're not dating!" the infant begins to cry from all the noise as Rei gets up from her place on the sofa. After picking up our daughter, she retreats into her new room.

"I know we're not," she then proceeds to slam the door, making everything in the apartment shake. The sound of – I'm guessing – Mika crying could easily be heard through the paper thin walls.

"I'm so sorry Shinji, I heard that you two were going out, I-"

"Even if we were, what makes you think that it's your place to tell Rei that?! You know damn well that I wouldn't do that!" I storm off into my room, leaving the confused redhead alone in the large room.

---

Shinji's Room - 2:00 AM

As I wake up to the sound of my door opening, the events of today rushed through my head. I basically sat in my room all day after the incident and went to bed extremely early, not wanting to think about what happened anymore. I thought about going into Rei's room a few times, but I decided against it; when she's ready to see me, she'll come in… which is exactly what she did. Without a single word from either of us, she crawls under my sheets and nuzzles in as close as she could get to me, telling me everything I had to know just from her movements. The small amount of light entering my room allowed me to see just the main features of her face. Our eyes were glued onto one another, and a very small smile traces her face. Closing her eyes, she moves in and initiates a soft, yet deep kiss. This lasted for quite some time before she pulled back and mouthed the words 'I love you'.

A/N – Sorry for the late update, but I had a crap load of homework… mainly from the creative writing class. I know that this chapter isn't very high quality, but the majority of it was written three in the morning last night. But hey, at least it's here, right? Anyway, a lot of stuff went on in this chapter… no shit. All I can say about next chapter is… well, ever heard of postpartum depression? Find out what happens in the next chapter; Two Fathers. Until then; keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – You know what I just realized? None of you caught my reference to John Wayne Gacy as Rei's father. Don't know who he is? Look him up.


	10. Meet Rei

Chapter 10: Meet Rei

A/N – Okay… BAD idea. VERY bad idea. Screw the baby, seriously. Picking up to when Shinji saw Rei again…

"No reason at all… one more question. Would you like to live with me from tomorrow on?" I swear to God, I vomited in my own mouth just from surprise, "I will be resigning from NERV soon… okay, more like being fired. A full year without angels has convinced the government to throw in the towel, which means I will be moving out of the base and into an actual home… are you feeling okay?" I must have been white as flour, "Think it over. Until then," the car comes to a stop, "Go to my office. You know where it is. I have to run some errands, I'll meet up with you later."

"O-Okay…" my knees shaking, I get out of the car and begin to walk to the large building, completely forgetting my backpack, "What the bloody hell man…"

---

A Few Minutes Later – Outside of Gendo's Office

After recovering from the extreme shock, I decide to go into his office as instructed, where I was sure there'd be a huge April fool's party awaiting. I open the door to see his large leather chair behind that plain black desk in the middle of a huge empty room. The chair was turned away from the door, blocking the view from whoever was in it, but it was obvious someone was in it due to the occasional rocking.

"Gendo, this was a hell of a long way to go for a bad joke," by now I was standing directly in front of the desk, and the leather chair was slowly turning to me. My eyes widen and my heart sinks at the sight of a widely smiling, blue-haired girl.

"Hey there stranger," the voice that I haven't heard from in more than half a year finally rings through my ears, making my eyes tear up, "You're not going to say anything?" her facial expression changes to a jokingly annoyed one.

"… Rei…?"

"No, it's Freddy Mercury. I've come to ride my bicycle. Yes it's me!" my eyes drift down her body, ensuring that this was real… and it was plenty real. I leap down, embracing her in a tight hug, and bringing her to her feet, "Wow, happy to see you too! But…" she pulls back slightly, staring me in the eyes, "I was hoping for a more romantic greeting," once again, she initiated the kiss, which only lasted a few seconds before we were so rudely interrupted.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," we both turn to see Ritsuko standing in the doorway, "But I'm going to have to ask you to leave. The commander's office is restricted to employees only," he's the one that told me to come in here!

"Okay, we were just leaving anyway," Rei takes my hand and we walk out of the office. I could have sworn I saw Rei glare at Ritsuko… "So, what'd I miss? Fill me in Mr. Ikari."

"Well, for one, Hikari and Toji are together again, but it looks like this time they're going to stay together. I also think we have a new addition to our group; her name's Melinda. Uh… outside of that, nothing really. To be honest, I've been bored to tears since you left," while I wouldn't say this, she really does keep me sane… too many stupid people in this world.

"Oh come on! Nothing else? What about Asuka? How has she been?" ever since our argument, we really haven't made up, though we do speak here and there. You'd be surprised how little two people can talk living under the same roof.

"Well, I don't know if it's true or not, but I heard that she's dating a junior. We got in a pretty big argument awhile back and we haven't spoken much since," I really wouldn't doubt the rumors at all. I'm not saying that Asuka is easy to date, but she does go through guys like shirts.

"Are you serious? I swear, sometimes I think I'm the only one that keeps you two from killing each other!" well, that used to be Misato, but now I guess that's Rei's job, "But really, I want you to be honest… did you wait for me? I won't be mad, I just want to know," is she crazy?

"Of course I did! Come on Rei, you know me better than that," in fact, I turned down Melinda plenty of times.

"Good, because I really would have been mad," with a smiling wink, we finally get through the NERV main doors. Come to think of it, we haven't been in there since she left… and oddly enough, it feels great! "So, how about we head down to the lake? I've been dying to go there lately!"

"Sure, let's just stop by the apartment and I can grab my… wait, where are your things?"

"Oh, Gendo said that he had some people drop off my clothes at your apartment, they're all there. But see, I don't have anything to wear to the lake, my dad made me get rid of anything he felt was… too revealing," damn him!

"No problem, we'll just stop by a store," she sends a sweet smile my way and pecks me on the cheek.

---

Lake – 9:00 PM

"Ah yes, the legendary Rei has finally made her appearance," Rei and I were staring up at the stars when Asuka made her way to right over our heads. Rei called Asuka at seven to come and meet us, but apparently she was busy with her new boy toy. Neither of us heard her coming, and as a result, we were scared shitless. This, however, only lasted a few seconds before Rei was standing up, performing the typical excited girl routine.

Phase one: the scream. You see, females have hearing not unlike dogs. They're able to communicate at lighting fast speeds, and this speed causes the pitch change… males usually tune this noise out the second we hear the key words: shoe, clothes, and Lifetime. We then proceed to a trance-like state, which allows us to begin defragging our brain… which is why we never forget where our things are in the abyss that is our room. Phase one is typically the most damaging to the environment, as dogs begin to bark, which causes car alarms to go off, which causes most fathers to turn the thermostat to a hundred and fucking ten.

Phase two: the hug, followed by the jumping. This phase is relatively harmless, as most males by now are still defragging our brain. However, for those males who have been programmed to not go into this state by their spouse, this phase is nothing less than annoying. While it is generally combined with phase one, this makes little difference… we are forced to stand awkwardly and watch this all unfold.

Phase three: catching up. Remember that light speed communication mentioned earlier? Yeah, well, this can help cover over half a year's events in fewer than four minutes. Just as females finish with this, males that have been in a relationship before automatically stop defragging and pretend to pay attention… however, for those who have been single their entire lives before this one relationship, as I have, we have not learned this skill yet. For males like myself, the only thing that can get us out of this trance are a few choice words: boobs, Metallica and Tyra Banks. I'm not exactly sure how long I was out, but I do know that I remembered where my old cassette player was…

"Shinji! Quit day dreaming!" Rei slaps my shoulder and I stand up to meet Asuka, who was already in her bikini, at eye level… well, sort of. While I was AT eye level, that's not at all where my eyes were. As if I can help it, I'm sixteen! Luckily, I wasn't caught, and we went on the conversation.

"Why are you wearing THAT?" someone went shopping recently…

"Are you stupid? Why are you two wearing the same damn thing? I'm gonna swim!" well, I wasn't wearing a bikini and Rei, while she did have one on, was wearing an over-sized t-shirt… hardly revealing.

"Oh be nice Asuka. I swear, I'm gone for a few months and you two are ready to kill each other," let's see here; I have a father who disowned me, my girlfriend just got back from a six month long absents, I lived with Asuka for over a year, and my mother is inside some robot… I'm already dead inside.

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, Shinji, why don't you go get us something to eat? There's a food stand near the pharmacy. Here's twenty bucks," is… Asuka actually… paying? Sweet Jesus! Rei really does keep her in check! With nothing more than I sigh, I take the money and head towards the small stand.

---

Kid's Apartment – 11:00 PM

We really didn't stay too long at the lake after Asuka got there… mainly because she wouldn't stop bitching about how cold it was. Sometimes she makes Paris Hilton look like Einstein, honestly. We have all retreated into our rightful rooms – that is, after I set up Rei's room which used to be Misato's. As usual, I had my MP3 player's ear buds in before I dozed off. Tonight, though, I was far from being able to sleep.

For some reason, I found the most minute details intriguing. I found myself thinking deeper than I usually would, and I knew it was because of the massive change that occurred earlier today. Ever since she left, I thought about her at the very least once a day, but at this point I can't even stop thinking about her long enough to become tired. Up until this point, I really had no idea just how much I missed her… which is why I now find myself tossing and turning in my bed while listening to freaking Josh Groban. Just as I began to fall asleep to the song Per Te, I jump out of my skin to the feeling of someone sitting on my bed. Sitting up, I see Rei with half closed eyes.

"Shinji… can I… sleep in here…? I don't feel… just… can I?" what's up with her? I take out my music and set it on the dresser, then grab her shaking hand.

"What's wrong? Why are you shaking?" she begins to cry softly, but she was able to keep her semi-straight face.

"Shinji, yes or no?" she raised her voice, showing some panic in her shaking tone, "I… need you… please…" without a word, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and lean her down on the bed, "Thanks… I just… need someone right now…" she falls asleep almost immediately in my arms, leaving me so worried that I couldn't even move let alone get to sleep. I wasn't exactly sure, but I think that I finally dozed off at around four… which doesn't exactly help me seeing as we have to get up at five. I woke up to the feeling of Rei crawling out of bed without a word. I sit up just in time to see her walking as if she was a zombie into the shower. Almost immediately after, Asuka walks into my room, already fully dressed for school.

"Okay Ikari, we're gonna set some ground rules right now. I don't care what you two do in here, but God help you if we end up having some brat running around here!" She was about to say something else, but I cut in.

"Asuka, it's nothing like that, I think something happened with Rei last night. She came in here crying and shaking like hell," Asuka's face instantly changes from annoyance to worry, "She was begging to sleep in here… then she didn't say a word when she got up."

"Really…? You should talk with her Shinji…" there's the understatement of the year, "Actually, no, I'm going to," don't you just love it when she takes control when nobody wants her to?

A/N – Okay, I know that it was a short chapter, but I wanted to get it finished so I could stop getting hate mail telling me to, and I quote, "Hurry the fuck up!" So yeah, not much to say here except read the next chapter, "Enter Melinda". Until then, keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – Still looking for a proof-reader…


	11. Enter Melinda

Chapter 11: Enter Melinda

A/N – And here is chapter 11. Sorry for the slow updates, been really busy lately.

Kid's Apartment – 5:15 AM

Somehow, and I have no idea why, Rei was completely normal… or, as normal as a girl like her could be. She had no remaining feelings from last night, and because of that, none of us brought it up. It was fairly typical, just like back before the accident; Asuka and Rei would talk, and I would keep to myself for the most part. By now, both of them have learned that I'm not a morning person, so they leave me alone… or, rather, Rei does. Asuka tends to throw in a smart ass comment every now and again that either receives a response from me or an equally effective comment from Rei.

Today was going to be the first normal day of school the three of us have had in awhile; for Asuka, there won't be much of a change seeing as she's in a completely different building, but Rei is, thankfully, in my class. I assume that the vast majority of the morning will be spent focused on her; people asking questions, catching up with old friends, and of course, my constant struggle to keep other guys from hitting on her. Fortunately for me, Hikari knows how to keep them in check… Toji on the other hand only acts as a catalyst.

"So you lovebirds, how was last night, hm?" Rei instantly blushes at Asuka's sudden comment, and I come close to verbally tearing her apart. Asuka knew damn well what happened last night; it's one thing to bring it up and talk about it like normal human beings, but like THAT?

"What… do you mean?" Rei keeps her eyes forward as she speaks, the blush still painting her face.

"Oh come on, I saw you walking out of Ikari's room last night, don't try and play it off like it's nothing!" I meet eyes with Asuka and give her the look from hell.

"Asuka, drop it, now," I have to admit, that was the first time I've seen her back down from a potential confrontation, but at least it worked, "What goes on between Rei and I has nothing to do with you, so I suggest you stay out of it," and here I thought that she would be able to help me with whatever Rei was going through.

"Geez, sorry for trying to make small talk…" the rest of the walk was completely quiet until Asuka met up with a few of her other friends and took off. I take hold of Rei's hand and give her a concerned look. We were about ten minutes from reaching the school, which gave me a little time to repair whatever Asuka just did.

"Rei, are you okay? Is there something that you need to tell me?" she tightens her grip on my hand as the expression on her face diminished emotionally wise.

"You…" her single word response literally took two minutes to utter, "Have no idea what I went through… can we talk about this later?" the tone of her voice was almost that of a young child begging for a simple toy, not that of a girl who obviously went through something I couldn't comprehend.

"Whenever you're ready, just tell me, okay?" before she could respond, which she was obviously going to do, a voice called out from quite a way ahead of us.

"Well whaddya know?! Ayanami's back!" I look ahead to see Toji waving to us from across the street at the school gates. His calls, of course, gathered the attention of Hikari, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. The two girls weren't exactly best friends, but they seemed to get along just fine during school hours. We reach the couple and Rei somehow manages to put on that fake joy personality… she's a little TOO good at that. Just as I predicted, the morning was spent circulating around Rei, but thankfully she didn't seem to mind all too much.

---

Classroom – ten minutes before lunch

The past five hours have been spent listening to that old man blabber on about God only knows what, and of course, I couldn't fall asleep to save my life. I've made it a habit of sleeping in class lately, but today there was just too much to think about concerning what Rei said this morning. What exactly DID happen to her to cause that sort of reaction? Even when we were stuck on the island, she never had a meltdown like that… come to think of it, through all the conversations we had over the internet, she never once mentioned what she was doing on a day to day basis with her parents; it was always about school and personal relationships. Six months living with her parents, and absolutely no news about them? Living with anyone that long would have to for some kind of emotional opinion; whether it be hate, love, or just plain neutral. I glance over at Rei, who was sitting across the room at a desk by herself and paying full attention to the instructor, and I couldn't help but smile. Regardless of what we must endure now that she's back, just the fact that she IS back is more than enough for me.

"MR. IKARI, would you mind telling the class the answer to my question?" ah crap… the typical teacher sarcasm…

"Um… Ghengis Khan…?" I knew we were in history… it was worth a shot.

"Oh… so you were paying attention… well, please face front," … Kodak moment… "Okay children, lunch break," the wave of talking immediately struck the classroom as everyone stood up from their seats. I begin heading towards Rei when I feel a warm hand grab my wrist.

"Nice save there Shinji!" I turn to see Melinda giving me a sweet smile, "I saw you gawking at the new girl, you weren't paying an ounce of attention!" she hugs my arm and rests her head on my shoulder, "Come on now, you owe me lunch, remember?" Why does she always do this when she knows that I just pull away?

"Excuse me," Rei's voice chimes through the room in a semi-aggressive tone as she taps Melinda on the shoulder, "Who exactly are you?" ah shit… I immediately pull away from Melinda as she plants her hands on her hips in that typical sarcastic girl stance.

"I'm Melinda, and I would appreciate it if you weren't so rude new girl," flames struck Rei's already red-tinted eyes.

"Uh… th-this is Rei… remember the girl I was telling you about…? Remember? You remember, remember?"

A/N – Thank you George Lopez for the painfully stereotypical line…

"THIS is what you waited all that time for?! Rei, the 'perfect girl'?"

"Melinda, that's-" Rei cuts off in an increasingly aggressive tone.

"Shinji, be quiet," I utter the words 'yes ma'am' just loud enough to keep my dignity intact, "Listen here you little American snob," sort of ironic, seeing as Rei is half American herself, no? "I knew that Shinji would have to deal with tramps like you when I was away, but I'll be damned if he goes through it when I'm around, got it?" and now here's the typical pre-fight glare… today's going to be fun…

Without a word, Rei grabs my hand and storms out of the classroom towards the outside-portion of the school… unfortunately, this is where the normal group of friends eat, which only caused more of a scene. By now, Toji, Asuka, Hikari, and Kensuke have all sat down and began to eat. Rei takes her place next to Asuka and I sit across the table from her, next to Toji. Asuka had only recently began to eat with us, and she was never exactly fond of Melinda, which of course did not help the situation.

"Asuka? What do you know about that American girl?" feeling helpless, I simply sit there and keep my mouth shut.

"Who, Melinda? Well, except for the fact that she's always flirting with Ikari, she's this annoying cheer-leader type of girl, you know? Why?" Melinda should seriously pray there isn't a fight… both Asuka and Rei know quite a bit of martial arts from Eva training. Rei clenches both of her fist on the table and bows her head, her hair hiding her face. Of course, with perfect timing, Melinda walks up. Casually taking another bite of food, Asuka speaks to her without turning her head, "Yeah, bad time, I suggest you walk away," with a sarcastic look on her face, she takes a seat next to me… which causes me to just move closer to Toji.

"And why would that be, hm? Is the albino a little upset because she has some competition?" I see Rei tense up further as Asuka simply chuckles.

"This'll be entertaining…" Asuka wasn't entirely wrong for once.

"You…" Rei's voice was barely able to be heard by even me, "Little bitch!" she leaps across the table and takes Melinda down throwing a fury of punches at the girl pinned on the floor. Without missing a beat, both Toji and I grab a crying Rei and pull her off of Melinda.

"Rei, calm down!" as if she was possessed, Rei continues to thrash towards Melinda regardless of my command.

"What da hell just happened?" through Toji's faint comment, Rei goes on to scream at a now bleeding Melinda.

"You better watch your fucking back! If I EVER see you touch Shinji again, I swear to God I'll kill you!" of course, Melinda didn't have a word to say, all she did was stare dumbfounded at the raging girl, "I will not be made a fool of by a slut like you!"

"Okay, this has been fun and all, but I think you got security's attention," Asuka once again takes another bite of food as she speaks. She was right again, as a man in a uniform takes hold of Rei's wrist and leads her away, "Five bucks says she'll get nothing more than a slap on the wrist."

---

5:00 PM – Gendo's Office

Of course, Gendo got word of the incident at school and called both Rei and I into his frighteningly large office, which was almost packed to the ceiling with boxes, preparing to leave. Rei hasn't said a word to anyone since she was let out of the school office, even though I've attempted many times to get something out of her.

"Rei…" sitting with that typical Gendo pose of his hands laced in front of his face, he finally speaks, "Would you mind explaining to me why exactly you assaulted another student today?" as always, he had that monotone style of speech.

"There is no excuse for my behavior," finally, Rei speaks… though, in a raspy, hoarse voice, "I apologize."

"You apologize?" he stands up and sets his hands on the tale, slightly leaning over, "You apologize?! Do you have any idea what you caused?! I had to literally beg the school district to let you back in more than half way through the year, and on your first day you put a girl in the hospital!" Rei hangs her head at the almost frightening look on my father's face, "Now I have to pay for the hospital fees, and in case you are still oblivious to your surroundings, I am unemployed! I don't care what that girl did to you, under no circumstances were you permitted to use the training NERV provided to you!" Rei continues to hold her quiet disposition. Gendo takes a deep breath and stands up straight, "We will discuss this later in private. Please leave."

"Yes sir…" Rei manages to mutter above her obvious fear as we both stand up.

"Not you Shinji, I need to have a word with you," oh great, the one day I see Gendo literally fuming and he asks me to stay alone with him. As the door closes after Rei, Gendo once again sits down, "Do you know why Rei was sent back here? Do you honestly believe her ridiculous lie?"

"There… was a reason?" she lied to me? She's never lied to me before…

"I gained custody of her once again because of accusations against her parents. They have not been put on trial yet, but they are being charged with child neglect, abuse, and endangerment. During her stay there, they never once provided food for her, and her father often verbally and physically abused her, to the point of leaving a scar on her back. She never once spoke up against her parents in fear of them, but one night she was locked out of her 'home' by her mother. A passing officer saw Rei sitting on the steps of her house in the rain and took her in. From there, she told them of what her parents have been doing and she was sent here," I couldn't believe what I was hearing… that entire time, she was living in that hell, and I had no idea… "I need you to keep an eye on her Shinji; in her current condition, I wouldn't put anything past her. Now, please leave, I have work to do," I really couldn't say a word… I get up and head towards the door with my heart in my stomach, "By the way," I once again turn and look at him, "Don't think I don't know what you two did on the island. Please keep in mind that legally, she is your sister; that act is illegal," … I really didn't need to know that…

---

Apartment – 8:00 PM

Once again, I have been unable to get a word out of Rei, regardless of what I did. I told Asuka to leave her alone, and thankfully she did just that. Right now, as always, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner as the two girls were watching TV in the living room silently. Naturally, I have been completely unable to get the words of my father out of my head. Why didn't she tell me? I would have been able to help her… I could have gotten her out of there sooner! Why didn't she trust me enough to at least tell me about it? I honestly don't get it…

"Shinji…" making me jump slightly, I turn to see Rei standing behind me in a long t-shirt and shorts, "I'm…" I see tears start to form in her eyes as she struggles to speak "Sorry…" without a word, I take her into a soft hug.

"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. I understand why you were upset," she wraps her arms around my torso and buries her head into my shoulder, "I'm just glad you're back, you really have no idea."

"The… food's burning…"

"Doesn't matter, it's Asuka's," for the first time in more than a day, I heard her laugh.

A/N – Can you say cat fight? Well, I think that was enough drama for awhile; chances are next one is going to be mostly humor… no promises though. Check out the next chapter; Drowning In A Wishing Well. Until then, keep on keepin' on!

A/A/N – Chapter dedicated to Heath Ledger; may he rest in peace… and fuck those Baptist pricks protesting his memorial.


	12. Drowning In A Wishing Well

Chapter 12: Drowning In A Wishing Well

Same Night – 12:00 AM

Thankfully, today was the last day for school for this week, so the three of us were able to stay up a little later than normal. Rei was back to normal more or less, though she still wanted to sleep in my bed instead of being alone. Of course, this got some mocking points in for Asuka, but Rei came back with a witty 'At least I have one'. By now, Rei was fast asleep, facing away from me. I'm beginning to truly believe that my mind is the only one that tends to wander at night…

"Ikari," I hear a very slight whisper through the door, "You still awake?" carefully getting up to avoid waking Rei, I open the door to see Asuka standing in her typical night clothes, "Would you mind coming out to the living room for a little bit?" the tone in her voice was extremely out of character, so this was nothing that I could ignore. Closing the door behind me, I follow the sixteen year old girl out into the small living room.

"What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong? I can't talk to a friend just because?" did she just call me a friend?!

"Uh… y-yeah…" I take a seat on the sofa and she lays down on the rug, facing the ceiling.

"Did you find out what was wrong with Rei? She told me that you were in Gendo's office for a little while alone," so that's what all this is about.

"Sorry Asuka, but I don't really feel comfortable telling you something that's not even my business," expecting to be yelled at, instead I was met with about thirty seconds of silence.

"I gotta say," her stare continues to be set at a random spot on the ceiling, "You proved me wrong. I always thought that you'd be done with Rei in no time, but it turns out you actually do love her."

"Thanks… I think," that was an insult and a compliment in the same sentence, "Asuka? Do you mind if I ask you a question?" she sits up and rests her hands on her knees with a typical 'sure', "You told me awhile ago that you never knew your father because you were a test tube baby, but not once have I heard you talk about your mother. Why not?" her head turns, now facing front, and a look of despair crosses her face.

"I really am surprised that you haven't found this out yet, your father being in charge and everything… I lost my mother when I was about five. She was put into an asylum shortly after I was born, and she killed herself a few years later. Haven't you ever wondered why I act the way I do? After she left me – which is exactly what she did – I refused to let myself get close to anyone, hence my attitude," she once again looks over at me with a weak smile, "Okay, now you owe me a question. What is your freaking deal with Gendo?" reverting back to the normal Asuka, her voice becomes sarcastic, "You act like you want to be close to him, yet you curse him every chance you get. What's the deal with that?"

"I guess it's sort of similar to you and your mother… I felt like he left me when I was younger after my mom died. See, the weird thing is that he didn't used to be like this; before I went to my uncle's, we were the typical family… then one day when I came home from school, the house was packed up and I couldn't find mom. Without even saying goodbye, he sent me to my uncle's because 'children are not allowed on the base'… you see what total crap that was now. I still don't know what happened to her; every time I bring it up to him, he refuses to talk about it."

"I think I just figured out why we were chosen to be pilots…"

"Why?"

"We all have seriously f-ed up childhoods," I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her, "And they didn't exactly help the situation, did they? I still have nightmares about that friggen dance outfit Misato made us wear…"

"Don't remind me…" oddly enough, we were up most of the night talking like normal human beings. There was no tension between us for once, and I actually got the feeling that we were bonding like we never have before. Just as we got up to go to bed for good this time, she stops me in the hallway.

"Listen, we should have a party tomorrow, I think it would help Rei relax a little, you know? Are you up to that?" I don't see anything wrong with it.

"Sure, why not. I'll call everyone tomorrow," with a small wave, we both disappear behind our doors. I saw that Rei was still fast asleep, spooning a pillow… MY pillow, "Great…" I can feel my neck stiffening up already. By the time I finally DID get to sleep, it was about seven in the morning… and of course, Rei gets up at that time. I was asleep on the chair, but apparently she decided to just let me sleep. By around twelve, I was awaken by the smell of burnt food… Asuka's cooking. I stumble out into the kitchen, still rubbing my eyes and yawning, to see a very confused looking red-headed girl staring at a frozen meal's box as whatever on the stove turns blacker.

"Need some help there?" she turns and gives me an embarrassed smile.

"I was just trying to make some bacon…" she really would starve without me, wouldn't she? I take over and within a few minutes I solve the mess she created, along with fixing a few more sides, "I would have gotten it eventually you know…" with her normal snub look, she takes the first bite of food.

"I'm sure you would have," I take my seat across from Asuka as something hits me, "Hey, where's Rei?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. She's in the shower, I'm taking her out to get some decent clothes to wear for the party – her wardrobe needs to get out of the 90's. You just wait here, I'll take care of her," out of the corner of my eye, I see Rei dressed in a towel heading across the hall into her room, "Trust me on this one, by the time she gets back, you won't be able to recognize her."

"Well don't go overboard, okay?" last thing I need is for her to attract the attention of MORE guys…

A/N – For the majority of this chapter, I will be writing in Asuka's POV.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" I give the boy a hint of warning in my stare; I knew exactly what he was thinking. As if I would slut her up like that! "Forget it, I'm going to take a shower," I left my dishes behind, knowing that he would get them for me. Honestly, at this point it's only habit to have him clean up after everyone – not like he ever objects to it.

I really do feel bad for Shinji. If he doesn't change something soon, this whole 'I love you' crap won't be coming from Rei much longer. She's getting bored with him, and it's obvious to everyone around – that idiot is just plain oblivious to his surroundings. Hasn't he noticed her change of mood towards him? I think all that time away from each other did some serious harm to the two… not that the outcome would be an entirely bad thing… then Ikari would be open…

"Hm…" I wonder if… "Don't even finish that fucking thought Soryu… you have higher standards than that," Jesus, this damned country has turned me soft. I was up all night talking to a boy – which is exactly what he is – who I wouldn't have even given a second glance at before. Hikari, Rei, Ikari, Misato, and even freaking Toji… I consider them all my friends… I didn't even HAVE a friend before I moved here, and that's the way I preferred it. Of course, I haven't opened up to anyone like I did to Shinji ever… maybe he would make a- "You're not going to do that!" I scream into my washcloth, sending a muffled, high pitched tone through the small room.

"Did you say something Asuka?" Shinji knocks on the door… great.

"No, and don't you dare open that door!" the glass on the shower door hasn't fogged up yet – he would have seen everything! Jesus Asuka, you're going insane… trying to hurry up and get out of the shower, I finish up and get dressed in the clothes I laid out. Apparently I tend I to think too deeply in the shower… almost immediately after walking out I see Rei eating a freshly made meal from Shinji, "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?"

"You say that, but if I was cooking you would call Shinji a sexist, isn't that right?" eh, she's got a point.

"Whatever, let's get going, I'm antsy," I grab Rei by the wrist and basically drag her out of the house with a piece of toast still in her mouth.

"I wasn't done you know," as if it had anything to do with her – I needed to get away from Shinji! "Why are we even going out? I have plenty of decent clothing," Jesus, she reverted back to the old Rei!

"Okay, let's take a look here," I stop us in the middle of the apartment walkway as I look at her body, "You're wearing a black tank top and jeans. Could you get a little more redneck for me Rei? No offence, but you really have no style when it comes to clothing. Now look at me – a blouse that's kind of dressy, but shows just enough to be called casual. My clothing speaks to men by saying 'Be nice to me and you might get something, even though you know it won't happen' and takes charge of other girls by saying 'I'm better than you'. Listen Rei, you have the goods, you just need to learn to use them!" she simply gives me a dumbfounded look.

"I… don't follow," and here I was calling Shinji oblivious… I simply let out a sigh as we begin to walk again.

"Do you even own something that would show off ANYTHING?"

"Oh, that's what you mean. Why would I do that? I don't see the need to 'show off' something that is private," says the girl that had sex on a beach.

"I know that, but… gah, you just don't get it… just trust me, okay? I'll make you drive Shinji mad!" feeling a little uncomfortable, Rei hangs her head. I put my hand on her shoulder and take on a more serious tone, "Is… everything okay with you two?"

"No, everything's fine, but…"

"I know, you don't have to say it. Listen, I was speaking with him awhile last night, he really does love you Rei, so if that's the issue, then forget about it," even I didn't know what the deal was with her, "Damn it Rei! How is it that you're able to turn a perfectly normal moment into THIS?"

"Sorry… so where are we headed?"

"That's more like it… we're going to the Tokugawa mall. Kaji's going to give us a ride," it's still almost embarrassing to be around him after how I used to act towards him… damned school girl crushes… after about half an hour of walking, we finally come to rest at a bench where Kaji told me to meet him. Of course, being the man he is, he was ten minutes late.

"Sorry girls, had to pick up a pack," holding a carton of cigarettes between his fingers, he gives a wink. As we climb in, I kick the back of his seat.

"Those things'll kill you, and you know it. Didn't you promise me you'd stop?"

"I don't recall that… I think you're pulling my leg girlie!" … girlie…?

"I know your Pin number, you do realize that, right?" he just sends a soft 'pfft' to the rear-view mirror, "Seven five one five," and with that he threw the small white box out the window, "That's what I thought. Thanks for giving us a ride."

"Oh, no problem. Can't have two young girls wandering the streets, now can we?" the painfully dull small talk ensued for the rest of the ride, which lasted almost half an hour. The thought of having to do that again literally makes me cringe… with a parting wave, Kaji drives away in a more reckless style than Misato.

"Now for you!" I guide her into the mall as she lets out a soft, annoyed sounding sigh. Why is she so upset? I'm the one helping her! Really, no one appreciates good deeds anymore! "We only have until four, that's when everyone is showing up, so we don't have long. We're looking for something that you're able to wear to a party and just casually… that doesn't involve a tank top," finally, we come across a store that catches my eye. Almost immediately I see something that would suit her, "How about this?"

A/N – I'll bear you the strain of reading what everything she finds looks like… unless I have to.

"It seems… like something you'd wear," and what is that supposed to mean?! I'm not the one with an outfit that could be found in the lost a found bin! "What about this?" her first choice was an obvious effort to pick something different, but still not too great. After a little over an hour in the same store, she finally got the hang of what I was trying to teach her. In the end, she picked out – that's right, SHE picked it out – this paper-white blouse that I was lecturing her about on the way here. Even though I improved her style, I couldn't for the life of me get her away from the damned black and white… maybe at a later date. I convinced her to change into the new clothes, and oddly enough, her personality seemed to change right away. She was much more open, she was starting to laugh more, and she was once again acting like a normal human being… damn I'm good! We decided to grab something to drink before we went home, so we took a seat in the food court – which was oddly empty – and began talking casually. Of course, we eventually drifted to this:

"Okay Rei, I'm not stupid, I know that something is going on with you and Shinji. What's the deal? You were absolutely crazy about him before you left!" holding the drink in both hands, she begins to fiddle with the plastic lid.

"Well, I love him, but.."

"Romance is gone?" come to think of it – have they even kissed since she got back?!

"Eh… sort of… I…" I really hate these delays! I take a drink of my soda just as she was finishing, "Think I'm gay," and that same drink ended up all over the table, "Sorry, that sounded more subtle in my head."

"Rei! You're not gay!" she continues to fiddle with the lid, not making eye contact with me, "… you're not joking, are you?! You DO realize that you had sex with Ikari, right? Right?!"

"I know that, but when I was away I was with another girl," my jaw drops to the table, "Not WITH, I mean dating. Jesus Asuka, can we stay out of the gutter for a few minutes? I'm being serious here," can't get more serious than this… "Shinji's just…"

"A guy?" I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, it just came out!

"No, not just Shinji, all guys are just too one-minded. Shinji's about the smartest guy I've ever met, and I can't even have an intellectual conversation with him!"

"Rei, I think you're confusing close friends for love…" why did she have to tell ME this?!

"I… highly doubt that Asuka…"

"Then why have you been playing Shinji along ever since you got back?!" was Rei actually… being mean?! Wow… didn't think that was possible.

"I don't want to hurt his feelings… that and it's embarrassing as hell! I mean look at how you dealt with it! Asuka, I'm sure about this, it's not one of those experimental things… I really like-"

"Don't even say it…" I rest my forehead on my hand, "I believe you, it's just… I don't get it… okay then, do you want me to tell him?"

"No… it's okay, you're a little too… let's say blunt. I'll tell him after the party I guess," you just gotta love how calm she is about all this! I mean really, she turns gay after sleeping with a guy she's been dating for over a year, and she acts like this is no big deal. I'm still not too sure if she's not just going through a phase, but even if she is… that's quite a big phase! I just don't know what to think about this, "Asuka, come on no, you've never had these feelings before?"

"NO! I've never looked at a girl and went 'well that's just not too bad', NEVER!" I put my head down on the table, embarrassed as all hell, "And here we are trying to get guys to notice you… as if you needed clothes…"

---

4:00 PM – Apartment

We were just now walking into the house to see Shinji still on the phone, apparently with Kaji. Unable to look at the poor fool, I go straight into my room and proceed to scream into the pillow… this seems to be a fairly effective stress reliever for me! Honestly, what is Rei thinking? You can't break up with a guy that you've slept with because you could be gay! I guess all the signs were there though… it's always the quiet ones…

"Wow Rei, you look great!" yeah, keep on looking lover boy…

"Um… thanks…" nice acting there First. I once again get up and head into the kitchen… I think I'm beginning to see why Misato drank. Honestly, if there was a beer in the fridge, I really would have grabbed one… water will do for now.

"The crap I go through for people…" just as I take a drink, the door bell rings, causing me to jump and choke on the liquid.

"Whoa Asuka, calm down," Rei peeks around the corner at me and I give her a glare of which this earth has never seen… since last time I was mad.

"I'm a little on edge, okay?! Get off me!" I really shouldn't use that expression anymore, should I? I walk back around the corner to see Gendo at the door holding a plastic bag of a few food products, "Oh, hi Comm… GENDO?!" Shinji seemed to be as surprised as me.

"Shinji, you didn't invite your own father," letting himself in, he sets the bag on the sofa, "I'm really hurt," using his typical monotone voice, he mocks his son, "Dr. Akagi will be arriving soon," even at a party, he still wears his NERV uniform… creepy old man.

"U-Uh… thanks… for coming," Shinji was pale as a ghost, and frankly, for once in my life, so was I.

"I didn't come for you, I came for the free food," now it makes sense! "That and you honestly believe that I'm going to have all of you here without proper adult supervision? Misato was pushing it, but it seems as if I'm the only TRUE adult left to watch over you three – which apparently you need, judging by your actions on the island," I really don't think that will be a problem anymore… before the door was even closed, Toji and Hikari walk in, both holding a plastic bag.

"Yo Shinji, where do ya want the grub?" ah, nice one; tell everyone else to bring food! And Shinji thinks he doesn't take after his father! I snatch the bag from Toji, giving him the only face he's ever seen on me; the one that screams 'you're an idiot'.

"Who says 'grub' anymore? Stooge…" unfortunately, those three were the only ones that came early, so the awkward silence between father and son lasted for a good ten minutes before Gendo finally broke it.

"How… enthusiastic… is this how your little get togethers always occur?" now I see where Rei picked up her style of speech.

"Yeah? And what exactly do you propose with only six people?" of course, I was the first one to speak up against him. Hell, I don't have to ass-kiss anymore, I'm not piloting. He was obviously surprised by my comment – he's never heard me talk like that before. I would always put on the 'good girl' act when around him. After about a minute of silence, he speaks up.

"You all are sixteen, correct?" we all nod, "And none of you picked up any habits from Misato?" we all shake our head, completely oblivious to what he was talking about, "I see…" he got up, went over the to bag he brought, and pulled out a six pack of beer in the plastic holder so famous for killing sea animals, "I'm no longer commander, which means I no longer need to watch out for my pilots," he broke each of the cans off and threw one to everyone across the room… what the hell?!

"Shinji, why ya always complainin about your father? This guy is awesome!" this is going to be a long night, isn't it? Just then, Ritsuko opens the door, once again with a bag, which soon ended up on the floor to seeing all of us with the beverage. In the silence of her staring at us, her mouth gaping wide, the sound of Gendo's can being popped could be heard.

"Commander! This is completely inappropriate!"

"One; not a commander anymore. Two; they're all of legal drinking age, nothing here is wrong," Rei and Hikari, being the good girls they are, set the can on the table to set a point… screw that, I need this!

"Even if they are, they're just children!"

"Lighten up Rits," Kaji squeezes in past the blonde woman with that normal cool-guy smile on his face, "Gendo does have a point," Akagi gives Kaji a disgusted look that would match even mine.

"You've already had a few, haven't you?"

"Only two or seven!" for the first time in my life, I actually heard Gendo let out a small laugh! "Oh, what's this I hear? Ikari having FUN? Maybe losing that job was the best thing to happen, huh?"

"Spending my night with a group of under-aged children isn't exactly my idea of a good time… hence the alcohol."

"I must say Mr. Ikari, I don't really approve of this. Dr. Akagi can back me up when I say that alcohol is the worst thing a child can-"

"Oh shut up Brian, have some fun," they all just stare at me lankly, not getting my reference in the least, "Breakfast Club?" they continue to stare, "1985?" they once again continue to stare, "The damn movie made over sixty million dollars!" uncultured pricks!

"A naked woman walks in a bar with a sausage under one arm and a poodle under the other – don't insult me Asuka," there we go!

"At least there's one smart person in here, Jesus!" I take a fairly large drink of the bitter liquid. What? I'm German, I'm supposed to drink until I can't feel things… "Who else did you invite Shinji?"

"Just Kensuke, but he said that he'd be bringing a friend, so there's two more people," good, so everyone important is here.

That night was absolutely full of firsts; my first drink, my first buzz, the first time I ever saw Gendo laugh, let alone have a good time, and above all, the first time I saw Kaji completely shit-faced. Now I see why Misato would date him; he was a worse drunk than she was! One thing that I was oddly happy to see was Shinji actually bonding with his father. Akagi was the first to leave, saying something about disassembling the MAGI, then went Kagi – Gendo had to call a cab for him – and the rest stayed quite awhile afterwards. It was about one in the morning by the time the last person left, which was Toji. I have to admit, I haven't had that much fun in quite awhile… though something had been haunting me all night… as Shinji closed the door behind Toji, I look over at Rei, who was sitting next to me, and whisper to her.

"Tell him now, you promised."

"I promised nothing."

"You tell him or I do – it's your choice," to prove a point, she folds her arms and raises an eyebrow, "Okay then…" I stand up and begin to walk to my room, "Rei's a lesbian now. Have fun you two!" I'm gonna sleep good tonight!

A/N – It's three in the morning and I'm tired, so I'm going to leave it at that. Night all; catch the next chapter, Adam.

A/A/N – Let me show you a sweet little piece of fan mail I got today… written by Mason Totaro.

"seriously wtf is that... sorry but it is complete crap..., you fucked with all the characters way to much, i dont care why you did it, its still crap... and having shinji fuck his half sister who isnt even really human is just disgusting; if you havent noticed yet rei is possible the worst character in eva, except for mabey maya... dont bother responding, their is no excuss for writing something like his, its even worse than your other stories..."

I have to thank you, I did have a fairly good laugh – you could blame it on the lack of sleep, or you could blame it on my wandering mind during my Trig class. The only thing I find odd is that he read a little under 60 pages of text; it took him quite awhile to realize this story 'sucks', didn't it? Oh, and great idea putting your real name on the e-mail.


	13. End of Season 2: Adam

Chapter 13: Adam

A/N – I sort of liked Asuka's POV, so I'm going to stick with it this chapter… possibly others. Just a heads up.

Apartment – One Week Later – 3:00 PM

"Ya turned a girl gay, dude! AHAHHAHAAA!" Rei was out with Akagi for something about her parents, and Shinji thought that it would be a good idea to have a friend over… he also thought it would be a good to break the news to him, "Please don't tell me you're THAT bad in the sack!" his mocking continues to ensue; the real funny part is that he may have a point there!

"You're not exactly helping…" Shinji, of course, so close to no humor in this whole thing. Thankfully, he wasn't too broken up about losing Rei; he claimed that she changed a lot since she got back – no duh – and he just didn't feel the same about her… he's open now…

"Oh come on man, you don't see at least a little of this as funny?! At least admit that it's ironic that one of the hottest girls at school doesn't even DATE guys!" I throw a pillow at his head; I really hate it when he talks like that!

"Don't make me tell Hikari what you're saying behind her back!" I will anyway, but it's fun to taunt, "That and I don't appreciate you talking about Rei like that. She's a nice girl, and she's going through a lot right now, she doesn't need some punk like you mocking her!" with one of his monkey-esque faces on, he pokes my forehead, which caused me to immediately grab his wrist.

"You ain't gay too, are ya?" placing my knee in the typical spot, I stand up to get something to eat.

"No, I'm not, and you should learn to respect people that have the opportunity I did. Hey Shinji, you want something to eat?" cool it Asuka, don't make it too… SHUT UP!

"No thanks… I think Toji could use some ice though," as if I'm going to get that. I grab a sandwich left over from Friday's lunch and take a seat next to Shinji, "No ice, huh?" I stare at the black-haired stooge on the floor, still slightly squirming in pain, and shake my head.

"What the hell was that for?!" he leaps up and stares me down, inches from my face, "Can't ya take a joke?!" in response, I simply take another bite of the musty bread, "I don't know how you live with her Shinji, I really don't," limping, he heads over to the bathroom. Soon after, screams could be heard faintly from the bathroom… oops. Almost immediately after, the cicada-sounding doorbell. Shinji, as always, was the one to get it, and was met with the colder than normal looking Gendo.

"Oh, hi dad, you need something?"

"What did you do to Rei?" I literally fell off the sofa laughing – even his father knows about this! "This is no laughing matter! What did you do to her Shinji?"

"Oh come on, not you too! I didn't do anything! It was her decision, not mine!" I see Gendo raise an eyebrow through my tears of laughter.

"Really now? Because she said you separated from her," at this point, I could even hear Toji laughing, "What happened?"

"I broke up with… wuh? Dad, she broke up with me because she's gay!" I continue to stare at Gendo as his face turns into a deeper and deeper red, "Um… dad? Are… you okay?" he simply walks in, sits down on the sofa I was on, and rubs his eyes after taking off those creepy green shades.

"Rei… is gay… should have seen that coming a mile away… Shinji, get me a glass of water…"

---

That Night – 8:00 PM

I have to admit, today wasn't exactly a joyful day for me. Today was the day that NERV was to be demolished to save tax-payer's money… as if I care about their money. I'm damn near close to crying as we all stand in a group a few hundred yards away, waiting for the explosives to go off. Piloting my Eva was the only thing that I've ever been truly good at, and here they are taking that away from me like it was never even there. No one was natural here; Gendo wasn't in his uniform, Akagi didn't have her lab coat on, and not a single employee was wearing their uniform. Shinji, Rei, and I weren't in our plug suits, and for once the world didn't need us… I just don't understand it. Why take it down? Even if the angels ARE gone, the Evas could be used in war… as if that would happen. After what the world saw what Japan was able to do, war isn't even a possibility at this point. The countdown for the explosions started, and I honestly couldn't look… the shockwave rattled the trees around us, and almost knocked the wind out of me.

"So, what did you do with Lilith?" I overheard Kaji speaking with Gendo.

"You know that information is classified."

"Like it matters now! What did you do with him?" Gendo continues his silence, "Gendo, really, what did you do?" Kaji's voice began to become sterner, unlike what I've ever heard, "Answer me!"

"SEELE is dead, and there was no way to cover Lilith up without gaining the attention of the media," Kaji's eyes became wide as every muscle in his body relaxed.

"You… left him in there, didn't you…?" once again, Gendo didn't answer, "You're crazy Ikari! You know what's going to happen!" by now, Kaji's voice attracted the attention of onlookers.

"What are you talking about?" a seemingly random voice came out of the crowd. Without breaking the stare with Gendo, he began to speak.

"Haven't you ever wondered why the angels ONLY came to Japan? Why not Jerusalem, Mecca, or the Vatican? They came here for Lilith; she was needed in order to fulfill God's plan, and we kept that from happening. The four horsemen are just a metaphor; in reality, these 'horsemen' are the Impacts. The First Impact, Famine, carried on as normal. The Second Impact, War, also did it's duty. It caused racism and war to break out among countries. The Third Impact, Conquest, was avoided due to the Evas. As I'm sure you all know, Death will be the final Impact, which WILL happen now that Lilith is once again in danger. The angels all represented part of humanity; God's plan for us, and we defeated them all, but didn't you ever wonder why they came in the first place? Christianity is NOT monotheistic, though people like to believe it is. 'And we shall create them in our image'… yet another line in the old testament ignored. The angels were gods, not some monsters! Lilith and God are the only true deities left in the universe… and they must start over. You should all know by now that an explosion cannot kill an angel!" we were all completely speechless, only the sound of the distant burning NERV could be heard, "When Adam came down, his mission was to bring us all to the home of the gods. They were happy with us, and wanted to reward us, but we attacked him. After we captured Adam, he was used in an experiment and died, which sent all the gods into a fury. Lilith came shortly after, Lilith's body was found… the only think keeping Lilith from attacking again was the Lance of Longinus, but that was used foolishly as a weapon, wasn't it Gendo?"

"Lilith is not an issue; she is far from regenerating. It will take centuries for her to rebuild, and by then she will be too weak to fight," Kaji grabs the still straight-faced Gendo by the collar and lifts him up.

"You can't defy God! Defeating the angels were one thing; they couldn't control the earth. Earth is God's child, and we have bitten the hand that feeds us! There are not seventeen angels…" he sets Gendo down and releases him, "We have one more to deal with… and we cannot win this battle. God will come for his child, and he will punish us," without another word, Kaji takes his leave.

"Father… is… all that true?"

"Kaji knew more about the angels than NERV did… I would not put it past him," Gendo looks at the sky and puts his hands in his pockets, "So, God is coming, huh? We've beaten him before… we'll do it again," he looks over at the three of us, who were all completely silent, "We're going to Sapporo."

---

One Hour Later

Within ten minutes of those four words from Gendo, a helicopter picked us up and began to head North. We're all still extremely confused as to what was happening, but we did know that this was the beginning of a new attack. Rei was on the far side of the helicopter, far from anyone else, but honestly, I couldn't get close enough to Shinji. I highly doubt he noticed though, he was just as scared as I was. After awhile, I finally got the courage to speak up.

"What's happening? I think we have the right to know," Gendo looks at me with his arms crossed.

"The Evas were clones of Adam and Lilith, hence their ability to kill 'gods' as Kaji put it. After each angel attack, NERV collected what was left of each angel… we have a perfect copy of all angels except Adam, Lilith, the eleventh, the thirteenth, and seventeenth. They have all been fitted with entry plugs, and we are able to use them exactly as we did with the Evangelions. Even if we do not win this battle, we will all die trying."

"You mean WE will!" I leap up and stare down at the man, "You won't be the one climbing in those things! You don't realize how much it fucking hurts when we're hit! We feel everything the Eva feels, do you realize that?!"

"Yes I do, and there is a correction I must make. One of the angels proved to be very cooperative to all humans, the fifteenth. If needed, I will pilot it," just hearing of that angel made me fall back onto the chair.

"No… you won't… you're not bringing that thing back!"

"Then you will pilot. Shinji, Rei, are you willing to pilot?" I can't handle this… not again… not piloting those things…

"I will if I'm ordered to," no…

"Like you've given me much a choice, yes," I can't do this… we can't kill God! I hunch over and grab my head, trying to forget what's happening.

"You're all insane! I'm not going to get in something that tried to kill me!" my eyes widen as I feel a fairly large hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Gendo looking down at me.

"Asuka Langley Soryu, I would not put one of my children in danger. You will be safe. I, however, cannot force you. Do as you will," with that, he walks away and disappears behind a door, leaving me wide eyed and completely pale.

"Fine then… we won't win though, regardless of our weapons…" not a single word was said for over two hours; I think Rei fell asleep awhile ago, but Shinji has been sitting straight up ever since the incident. I look over at him, and our eyes immediately meet.

"Are you okay?" the thought that I shared with Hikari those years ago finally struck me.

"We're all having fun, here and now, but there's no telling what will happen to us tomorrow… you better make your feelings loud and clear…" I put my hand on Shinji's cheek, making him blush deeply, "Hopefully this is clear enough for you," I lean in, past his face, and peck him on the cheek, "If we die…" I begin to whisper in his ear, "I'll be happy with my life," I immediately take him into a hug, but he doesn't return the gesture until a good fifteen seconds – which seemed like an eternity – later.

---

Sapporo – 1:00 AM

"Wake up, we have arrived. We must begin tests immediately, we don't have time to dwell," Gendo nudged me, waking me up with a jump from Shinji's shoulder. Rei was standing behind Gendo, opening the door for us. I stand up, along with Shinji, and silently make my way towards the windy exterior. When I get outside, I was immediately met with a solid black building bigger than anything I've seen in my entire life. It's length extended far beyond what the eye was able to see, and the height was almost that of a mountain. I've always heard about these 'super structures' that would occasionally make appearances on television, but I never truly understood how huge they were…

"Whoa…" I heard Shinji mutter under his breath as we approached the building.

"Once inside, you will be met with a decision. Because all of the angels are blank slates when it comes to synchronization, you will have twelve options. You will each be assigned four angels to pilot, and depending on the situation, I will inform you on which one to use," enormous metal doors slide open to reveal a long row of monitors, each with an angel submerged in the all-too-familiar LCL shown. Names have apparently been assigned to them, because above each monitor was a very odd sounding word, "Asuka, if you wish, please choose four of them."

I step forward as my eyes immediately catch onto the first angel I defeated. I recite the word above it as a woman in uniform across the room takes down my options, "Gaghiel…" I see the angel that nearly took my life in that damned volcano, and I couldn't help myself, "Sandalphon…" continuing down the list, I see an angel I've only seen in pictures and heard about from Shinji. I've always thought it looked graceful, so I would naturally choose it, "Samshel…" and finally, I see the only angel that made no sense to anyone at NERV; that damned virus that caused the blackout, "Iruel…"

"Rei, you're next. Please choose four," Rei seems to have reverted back to her old self, voice and all. Her choices were perfectly fit to her personality; Leliel – the black and white angel that carries its own dimension inside it. Ramiel – the black diamond angel that I never saw in person. Armisael – the light ring angel that has no form. And finally, Zeruel – the razor-ribbon-armed angel that took down both me and her.

Last came Shinji, but he basically got the leftovers, but I really do think that these would have been the ones he'd choose. Sachiel – the first angel he ever battled. Israfel – the only angel that seemed to be a blessing in disguise for my relationship with Shinji. Matariel – that creepy spider thing that I met eye to eye with. Lastly, he got the angel he caught with his bare hands; Sahaqiel.

"I will take you to your quarters; you must wake up by six to begin testing. Please be ready by seven," not a single word was said the rest of the night, not even out of Shinji, whose made it a habit of wishing both me and Rei a good night for the past two and a half years. I cried myself to sleep that night… for the first time in my life, I felt truly helpless… and I couldn't deal with it.

A/N – Ah, I can hear the hate mail pouring in already; yes, that was a real quote from the Bible, I didn't pull that out of thin air. However, if you do feel the need to bitch me out, please note that this story is rated M, which is far beyond the Christian morals, so if you are offended by this, try looking at your beliefs. By the way, I think I'm going to write any foreseeable chapters in Asuka's POV, I just enjoy it a lot more. Check out the next chapter, The Fourth. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	14. Start of Season 3: The Fourth

Chapter 14: The Fourth

Asuka's room – 5:00 AM

I barely got any sleep last night, and when I finally DID fall asleep I was woken up to some sort of machine running across the hall. I decided to just give up on sleeping and watch some television… though that didn't cheer me up in the least. Sine NERV's demolition, there have been countless sightings of UFO's, Bigfoot, and just about every other mythological creature there was. While most of these were obviously fake, there was a major explosion in Jerusalem, which left nothing more than a crater the size of Mexico in its wake. There was no longer a doubt in my mind that the world was coming to an end; now it was just a question of when.

By six, I decided to take a show and try to take my mind off of things… though that seemed close to impossible. I was in a room the size of a one-star hotel bathroom that reeked of cigarette smoke, and even worse, there wasn't a drop of hot water coming out of the faucet. Just as I expected, my mind began to wander onto subjects that I would rather keep far from thought… the first thing to come was that I actually KISSED Shinji. What the hell was I thinking?! He probably thinks I'm insane now! I mean Jesus Asuka, the world's coming to an end and NOW you decide to make a move! I guess it's better later…

"Hey Asuka?" the sound of Shinji knocking on the door and his voice echoes through the small bathroom. Out of instinct I cover myself, "Just warning you that I'm in here. I think we need to talk," no duh! Great, now he's waiting for me, and I know damn well what he's going to say! 'Sorry, but I'm not looking for a relationship yet'… damn it all… I take my sweet time getting out and dressing in a pair of night pants and shirt.

"Hey, listen," still drying off my hair, I walk out into the room, "I'm so-…" there he was, looking normal as ever, with his music player in, lying back on my bed, "You can't hear a damn word, can you?" he remains motionless, "I'm a chunky monkey from funky town."

"At least you admit it," a small smirk crosses his face as he opens his eyes and looks up at me. I throw my towel on his face, mainly so he wouldn't see me blushing, and sit on the edge of the bed, "You doing okay?"

"Look, don't beat around the bush, I know why you're here. Just say what you need to say and leave, I have to get ready," why did I do that? All that I accomplished by kissing him was humiliating myself… out of nowhere, he rests his hand on top of mine and sends a sweet smile my way.

"I'm scared too, Asuka. You're not the only one," I tried to, but I really couldn't hold back a smile from crossing my face. Leaving me paralyzed, he returns the gesture I committed last night and leaves the room. After a few seconds, I fall back onto the bed.

"He… kissed me… this is gonna be a long day…" I just laid there, staring at the ceiling, for almost twenty minutes before I got up and opened the closet to see nothing but a lone red plug suit hanging, "Haven't seen you in awhile…" it actually took me awhile to remember how to get the damned thing on, but eventually I was dressed it the suit that I obviously outgrew long ago… I can't image how Shinji's feeling in his; he's grown the most out of all of us.

"Soryu, Gendo has called for us. Please hurry," well there goes another one of my friends… Rei's back to her monotone voice, and just by hearing it I almost want to tackle her. I walk out into the hall just in time to catch Rei and Shinji – both in uniform – turning the corner far down the hall.

"Wait up!" I run full speed towards them, only to turn the corner and run into Rei, sending me to the floor but leaving her standing, "Ahhhh…" my damn back…

"Whoa, you okay Asuka?" he presents his hand to help me up, but I reject it and get up on my own, blushing the entire time.

"I'm fine… where are we supposed to go?"

"Gendo told me to just follow the hall and take the door when we reach the dead-end," must she use that terminology? We do exactly as Rei described and end up in a room very similar to that of an Eva docking bay. There was literally an ocean of LCL with three huge shapeless forms beneath it.

"Ah, so you're all here. Please follow me," a very young man was the first to meet us, and he guided us over the LCL via bridge. It seemed to take forever to get across, and the sound of metal clanking was literally about to drive me insane, but when we finally reached the end we were met with three huge tubes, each with what looked like a entry plug in them. The first one was two entry plugs connected in an H shape by yet another entry plug. The middle one was… hell if I know. It was basically a square, but not a cube; and actual square. It had to volume to it; if I were to look at it from the side, it would disappear… I've never seen anything like it in my life. The last one was an exact copy of a normal entry plug.

"Why are we even here? We've proven that we can sync with an Eva, why would this be any different?" I really do try and sound commanding, but there was a shaking in my voice that no one – not even me – has ever heard.

"You are correct, and that won't be an issue, but the piloting will be much different. Shinji, you will be piloting Israfel today; the entry plug is designed to split your mind into two separate entry plugs and copy your movements. Just pilot like you would normally; the computers on each side of you will mirror your actions and focus on a central target. Asuka, you will be piloting Iruel. Since this angel doesn't necessarily have a body, you will stay here and pilot it. No movement will be needed, just use your mind to pilot it. Your entry plug is designed to pick up electrical signals from the brain, nothing more. We have a special plug suit for you when it comes to this angel. And Rei… I'm sure you've noticed the odd shape of your plug. Leliel was an entire dimension inside a sphere; when you enter that plug, you will also enter that dimension. As with Asuka, you will pilot with your mind, but no plug suit is needed," while still keeping her emotionless face, a small blush crosses her face, "For the next four days, you will be mastering each of your angels."

"Yo, what about me?" oh Jesus no… not…

"Suzahara, I see you're ready," my shoulders instantly slump to the floor as I turn to see the stooge in his pitch black plug suit, "You will be piloting only one angel; Arael. Tests last night showed some difficulties with it that didn't pose a problem with any other angel, so you will only be testing on one," you've got to be fucking kidding me! I knew that bastard would weasel his way out of piloting! "Here is your entry plug," a large metal covering revealed yet another tube, which instantly lit up the room as if we were on the surface of the sun.

"Duuuude…" just like a hippie on acid, he stands a few feet away from it and stares at it blankly.

"This is actually part of the angel… think of it as bottle light. When you step inside, it will once again be attached to the angel, and in essence you will become the angel until we eject you."

"Let's just get this over with, I wanna get started. Where's this new plug suit you told me about?" like hell I wanted to get started, but I did want to get it over with.

"Dr. Akagi…?" Gendo summons his friend with benefits out of a dark corner.

"As the Commander so gracefully put it, you don't need your body, and need as little interference as possible, so…" she tosses what looks like a simmer's cap my way, "That's it."

"Okay, this is sexist as hell! Why is it that all the women had to pilot naked while the two guys are wearing plug suits! The stooge is going to be PART of the angel!" being naked is one thing, but wearing THIS and naked… I'm going to keep what's left of my dignity intact!

"Hm… good point Asuka. Okay Toji, strip down," without missing a beat, he presses the button that air locks the plug suit.

"Oh God!" I whip around and cover my eyes, "That's not what I meant!"

"Look, you chose it. If it makes you feel any better, there are no cameras in any of the plugs, we saw it as an unneeded luxury," Ritsuko puts her hand on my shoulder and guides me away from the group, "Come on, I'll take you to a changing room. You come too Rei," CHANGING ROOM?! For what?!

---

Five Minutes Later – Entry Plugs

I refused to get in until everyone else was gone, so I was the last person to experience the new entry plug. When I finally climbed in, I immediately felt further away from home than I ever have. There were no controls, no seat, not even a computer. All that was in here was LCL and me… it's creepy…

"Are all of you ready?" apparently they had time to install the audio…

"Yes," we all recite almost choir-like. Immediately after, a loud roaring sound could be heard above us.

"We're opening the roof; Toji, you'll be the first to go. Please try to ascend into the exosphere."

"Ya mean space?" silence struck the audio link, "Ya couldda just said that…"

"Rei, you'll be next. I know that you can't reply, but just try hovering as high as you can for now. Shinji, do NOT split yourself up until we instruct you to, but outside of that just pilot like normal."

"I don't even know how to separate…"

"And Asuka, since you're basically a virus, we've already put one nano-machine in a dummy computer. Please try and take over the computer; you have full clearance to do whatever you're able to here… and don't ask us how, just do it," which is a fancy way of saying they have no idea HOW to plot mine. Toji obviously took off, as the light was even visible through the think metal walls of the entry plug.

"This is awesome!" and apparently the angel has a mouth… great… "And you said that this'd be hard!" the light dims, and almost right after I had a huge sinking feeling in m stomach.

"Rei is now part of Leliel," a few seconds later, Akagi once again came in, "And she has left the hanger. Okay Shinji, you're up."

"Y-Yes ma'am…" I feel something happen to his entry plug next to mine, "Ahh!"

"Oh calm down ya big baby, you're just being ejected into Israfel. Now leave, you're at a ninety-eight percent sync ratio," over achiever… "Now Asuka, I'm powering your angel on. To operate it, close your eyes and… well, that's as far as we've got. All we know is that we must cut off all of your senses; the LCL is being heated to ninety-eight point six degrees, your audio link will be cut, and the LCL has no smell."

"What about the shitty taste in my mouth?" Shinji was right, this stuff does taste like blood…

"We can't do anything about that. Good luck!" arrogant pricks! How am I supposed to pilot without any damn controls?! This has got to be the stupidest thing I've done in my entire life, and I went to school in Japan! I swear, if I… okay Asuka, calm down… just relax…

My experience with Iruel was… odd, to say the least. For almost five minutes, I could only control that single nano-machine, but out of nowhere, my mind drifted to Shinji and the machine multiplied to at least five hundred. From that point out, I had a migraine that could have taken down a bull elephant, but I was able to control the computer just fine. Eventually I got the hard drive running by moving the little robots fast enough to spin it, and soon enough the rest of the computer was being powered by friction by my other robots. The second that the computer was fully operational, my migraine was gone. It was almost as if my brain WAS the computer… I just can't describe it. And then I saw a symbol that made me open my eyes and demand to be let out of the plug.

"Why the hell would you make me infect a damned Windows XP?!" I open the plug and cover myself up with a towel I brought in from the changing room, "Jesus, that thing was my BRAIN! What if it froze?!"

"Sorry Asuka, we didn't think that you'd be able to operate it so quickly. We're preparing a more complex target for you next, but for now, if you want, look at your co-pilot's progress. Rei has done nothing but float in the same spot for the last two hours," I was doing that for two hours?! "We assume her angel is difficult to pilot. Shinji has split into two separate angels and is trying to beat himself in a sparring match," I was able to see those orange and silver angels fighting on a nearby mountain… which was actually quite a sight. It basically looked like a person fighting a mirror; each punch was blocked with an equal and opposite punch, "And as for Toji…" a nearby employee begins to laugh, "He… has done VERY well… apparently this angel, being composed of light, is able to travel at the speed of light…"

"I'm the sun, yo!" a seemingly omnipresent voice took hold of my body.

"We know Toji… now please stop making sun spots, you've already blackout half the earth…"

"Wait, wait, wait, check this out," a few seconds later, the sun turns a beautiful cyan color, "Hahaaaa! Okay, this is gettin boring," the sun turns back to normal, "I'm goin to Pluto! I've always wanted to go to another planet!" with an extremely annoyed voice, Ritsuko once again comes over the intercom.

"Pluto hasn't been a planet since 2007…" silence once again.

"Okay then," without another word, a large beam of light shoots across the sky in a blink of an eye.

"Ignore him for now. Asuka, we've got a more complex subject for you to try and take over. Following what we did last time, one nano-machine will be ejected. This time into a German Shepherd," I send an annoyed look up to the control booth.

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"Little bit, yeah," asses… "Please be careful though, you can't support the entire burden of commanding the machines on the dog like you did on the computer. You'll have to split it up between the two of you or the dog will die; too little will stop all activity and too much will cause a massive stroke… no pressure though!" oh great, now I got a life in my hands! I once again climb into the entry plug, dreading to do this again.

---

Seven Hours Later – Hanger (4:00 PM)

We were all standing in the hanger, just barely getting out of the entry plugs, as I cover myself up with a towel. Toji had that smug look on his face that just screams 'I feel special'. Shinji was completely asleep by the time his entry plug was opened; apparently his energy is drained twice as fast in that thing… what? Makes sense to me.

"Except for Toji's little… mishap-"

"What'd he do?" I couldn't help but ask. Akagi instantly gets that annoyed look on her face.

"He created another planet! Can we drop it, please?! I'll be doing paper work on it for months…"

"I call it Suzaharia!" the perfect cube of a planet could clearly be seen floating far above earth as if it was a moon, "I got a little confused with it though…" apparently the thought of pi is too much for the poor fool, "Wait a second, where's Ayanami?" Akagi simply points to a random spot on the wall, which had a very odd black dot about the size of a cell phone on it.

"Shinji, remember how it swallowed your Eva when you were fighting it? Well, it appears that Rei is stuck in that position. She is moving though, just extremely slowly. Thankfully, she's heading towards the LCL beneath us; that'll bring her back. I predict she'll be back within fifteen hours. Okay, you were brought out to get something to eat, please follow Maya to the cafete-" a huge gust of wind came from that spot on the wall, spewing out Rei dressed in a black trench coat.

"It was the blue pill," she looks straight at Akagi as she said that, "Oh," she turns back to the hold and sticks her arm inside, pulling as hard as she could. Soon, an arm with a green sleeve began to emerge. The hole grew to accommodate the size of what Rei was pulling, and eventually an entire person could be seen, "Look who I found."

"That… was weird…" to all of our surprise, Misato, dressed in her typical NERV uniform, was slumped over in front of us, speaking as if she had one of her hangovers.

"Misato?" Shinji was the first to speak up, and Misato walked up to him first… and took hold of both of his ears, pulling them in opposite directions.

"I saw what you did with my damned body! You buried me under a tree! I was being pissed on by a monkey twice a day!"

"Enough! Rei, what happened in there?!" Akagi took hold of Rei's shoulders, begging for an explanation… as if it matters! Misato is back!

"You said it yourself; I had my own dimension, which I was able to control. I could go anywhere at any time period, so I thought I'd bring back the Major," Akagi once again slumps over as she did with Toji.

"Great… now I have to figure THAT out too… where did you get the jacket?"

"White rabbit."

---

Cafeteria

Oddly enough, they actually did care about our well being, and gave us some time to rest up. Shinji had his head flung back, fast asleep with his fork still in hand. Thankfully, Toji got dressed and shut up about the planet he made. I was next to Shinji, trying to stay awake myself. While I'm able to 'pilot' my angel just fine, it really drains me. The dog is fine, he just has a couple extra organs… what? I got a little carried away with the whole evolution thing… hey, at least he's able to go month without food now, right?

"So, you said thatcha knew everything while inside that thing, right?" Rei simply nods as she takes another bite of food, "Okay that, what's the answer to life?"

"Fourty-two," great, now she really IS a know it all… bloody hell…

"Fourty-two? I don't get it…" Toji begins to scratch his head. How did I get stuck with this idiot? Why was he even chosen?!

"What's the question? Find that out and you'll understand it," why does that sound so familiar? Wait a second…

"Rei, it's all fine and dandy that you have all this knowledge, but how are you going to FIGHT? I mean really, you can't do crap with 'fourty-two'," she sets down her fork and chuckles a little under her breath.

"I will be learning how to attack when we go back. At exactly seven fifty-four PM, I will accidentally swallow the dog you were controlling. Happy?" I think I liked it better when she wasn't talking…

"Hey!" Toji leaps up and slams his hands on the table, "Ya know the damned future too?" she once again nods soundless, "The how is all this going to end?!" he's got a point there… hey, did he just realize something before me?! "Why aren't ya sayin nothing? Answer me!" Rei stands up and begins to walk away, "If we're gonna die I think we have the right ta know!"

"Anyone who deserves to die, will. Kaji was right; God is starting over. All humans will be gone when this is over, but that will be the end. God will be pleased with us, and there will be no punishment, but we must fight to gain that. The first attack will be one week from now, please prepare yourselves," everyone that could hear went completely white, and Toji stands up straight.

"I don't believe her. There's no way she could know alla that!" with a jump, Shinji wakes up and looks around.

"Huh? Wh-What'd I miss?" he turns his head towards me and sees the zombie look on my face, "I always miss the good stuff!"

A/N – This chapter was FULL of foreshadowing, so if you didn't catch anything, go back and read it again. Well, this was the beginning of season three, so expect quite a few chapters with this main subject. What will happen next? Hell if I know… seriously, I just go into this blind. Check out the next chapter, Down Time. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	15. Down Time

Chapter 15: Down Time

A/N – This isn't a very long chapter, but it's by far the most emotional one. Try and read it for all it's worth.

Three Days Later – Asuka's Room – 5:00 PM

For the first time since I got here, I was able to relax in my room and actually do nothing. As of today, we are all able to pilot our angels. Gagiel and Sandalphon proved to be pretty useless unless I'm in the ocean or a volcano. Thankfully, the entry plug on both of them was normal, so I didn't have to make a fool of myself again. Now that I've tried them all out, turns out Samshel is the most useful and strongest of all my angels. The entry plug is more like a cube than anything else, and to control the two whips I use these long joysticks where the controls would normally be. Beyond that, I would have to say Iruel is my favorite mainly because I'm not in any danger when I pilot it.

Rei, of course, was able to pilot all of her angels perfectly on the first try. Ramiel, naturally, had an entry plug in the shape of a octahedron to mach it's body. She was able to shoot down that damned planet Toji made on her first try. Zeruel turned out to be one of the most powerful angels we had; she literally cut a mountain down the center in one shot, and the AT beam she's able to produce can, according to Akagi, move many times the speed of light. Armisael, which she has named Halo, is by far her favorite. Shape shifting, speed, agility, power, and almost immortal all account for her choice.

Shinji still enjoys Israfel the most, even though it drains almost all power he has. However, after seeing him pilot Sahaqiel, I really wished I would have chosen that one. He's able to hit a target with pinpoint accuracy from hundreds of miles away, and with that on top of his ability to use his AT field to turn invisible, he's by far the stealthiest angel. Sachiel is just plain weak; no surprise though, Shinji was able to beat him on his first time piloting. I highly doubt that one will even be piloted again. Matariel was equally as weak, but the acid it's able to produce may serve some kind of purpose later on.

Toji has… had fun with his. Since he's had all these days to get his piloting perfect, he's now able to use all of the abilities the angel used on us… and me. Akagi told him not to use that whole mind rape thing unless he needed to, but I know that he's able to read minds… which is just not good in someone like him. Rei and Toji are out, probably at some mall or something, and I think Shinji is with his dad. I decided to stay in; I just didn't want to go anywhere today, I'm not too sure why though.

Shinji and I haven't said a word to each other concerning the kiss, let alone about our relationship, so I assume it was just another one of my childish fantasies. I'm sure that there's something obvious that I don't see in Shinji, the same way I didn't see anything wrong with Kaji two years ago. It doesn't really matter though, all I wanted to do was tell him how I felt, and I did just that. According to Rei, we're all going to go down fighting four days from now, so it's not like our relationship could really grow in that time. I didn't expect anything to be honest, I never do out of people. Just as Rei has reverted back to her old self more or less, I've gone a few steps back myself. I caught myself about to call Shinji 'Third' again, but I refuse to go back that far.

"Um… Asuka?" a knocking and Shinji's voice yanked me out of my day dreaming and caused my reaction of leaping to my feet, checking my hair for imperfections, and opening the door in three seconds flat.

"What are you… doing?" Shinji was dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt, nothing different, but the open black button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves was… let's go with 'enough'.

"Not too sure on that one actually, but here," he pulls out a bundle of assorted flowers from behind his back and hands them to me, "You, uh… wanna go out somewhere? I think this is gonna be our last day off for awhile… and," he continued to speak, but I stopped listening awhile ago. He's never given me that look before… I don't know what's different about it, but it's not the normal Shinji I know… and he got me FLOWERS! Corny as hell, but that's the first time I've ever gotten an actual gift from a guy before! While my inner Asuka was jumping up and down like a school girl, my outside… actually wasn't much different, minus the jumping part.

"One minute," I close the door and get dressed in record time in a fairly short skirt and white blouse. I open the door to a very confused looking boy and give him a blushing smile, "Is… this about…?" I didn't need to finish it for him to understand.

"Yeah, and if you were serious-"

"I WAS!"

"… then I'd like to take you out… as long as you don't leave me waiting in line," remembering the story I told him one night at Misato's, I blush deeply.

"I… only do that to guys I don't like," feeling slightly exposed, I grab my right arm across my chest, "So, what's your big plan, hm?" I honestly couldn't care less what he had planned, I just wanted to get out… well, get out with HIM, "Better not disappoint the first girl you kissed," sending an undercover tone his way, he comes back at me.

"Well, you did kind of wash your mouth out with rubbing alcohol afterwards," who said it was rubbing? "And I was thinking something along the lines of a movie… cliche, I know, but I don't know this city," take hold of his hand and lace my fingers with his.

"That sounds just fine to me," it was at that moment that I realized that God was attacking, just indirectly.

"Shinji! What's wrong with you?! How could you cheat on Rei?" just as we turn the corner, we run into Misato.

"I'm not! She's gay!" wanna be a little more subtle there buddy? "Look, after she came back she told me that she was gay and broke up. I wouldn't cheat on anyone!" Misato begins to snicker, just like all other people that hear the story, and I cut in.

"Watch it Misato…"

"I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone… wait, Asuka?! Last time I was around you two were at each other's throats! What happened?!" says the woman who couldn't hold a relationship to cave her life.

"That's hardly any of your business!" she's got a point; how did this happen? "Now if you don't mind, we're leaving," I drag him behind me, wanting to get away from this as fast as possible.

"I'm never having kids… too fickle…" I hear her mutter as we round yet another corner. When we were finally out of earshot, I slow down, realizing I have no idea where to go, and turn towards Shinji.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" who woke up one day and said 'we should make a building the size of Rhode Island!'? "Maybe we should have asked Misato."

"No, I know where I go," for the first time, I actually saw him take charge without asking for it. Sure, it was about something as small as navigating a building, but still, seeing his true personality now that we're not bickering is… almost intoxicating, to say the least. It's almost as if he had a complete character makeover last night. I never bothered to stop and look at how he was growing, and I completely missed the fact that he's nothing like he used to be… he's actually human.

Eventually, we make it out of that damned building and Shinji calls for a cab to pick us up. I couldn't believe that all of these monsters are in a quiet little spot; I've only been here a few days and I love this place much more than my old home. It's quiet out here… it's simple… and, more than anything, it's the last place I'll ever be. I barely come to terms with that, but I think I'm doing fairly good for a girl that just found out the world's coming to an end in a few days.

"Asuka?" we were still in the cab when he broke the silence that has been flooding us ever since we got inside, "Rei said that God is starting over, right? Well, won't there be a new-" I cover his mouth with my hand and give him an annoyed look.

"Our first date and you want to talk about THAT? Real romantic Shinji…" he really needs to learn when and how to talk about things… "Listen," I move my hand to his cheek, "Honestly, I couldn't care less what happens. Whether Rei is right and it's all over, or somehow she's wrong and we win, either way I'll be happy. Don't ask me how, I just _am_," I could feel tears start to build up in my eyes as I smile, "Just tell me you're happy too," he responded, but it didn't matter what he said. He didn't tell me that he was happy, which is all that mattered to me at this point… he's such an idiot…

---

Park – 6:00 PM

We decided against the movie, not seeing much point in it. The sun – which seemed a little smaller than it used to – was just touching the distant mountains, preparing to leave for another night. I had my hand laced in with his, but it was meaningless at this point in my life. I thought that this is what I wanted, but it's not. I tried to deny it, but there was one fact haunting me; I knew that he still loved Ayanami. I can't blame him though, those two had the closest bond I've seen in my life, and they were just teenagers. With a mind of a child, he really believe that their bond was forever, but he was obviously wrong. I had to talk to him about it… I can't just keep all this bottled up inside me, last time I did that…

"Shinji," I take my shaking hand away from his, "Tell me the truth. You still love her, don't you?" he continued to stare at the sky, not a single emotion on his face, for almost five minutes before I cut in again, "I get it," I get up and walk away from him, still staring at the sky.

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever."

Looking back, I regret the way I handled that… but honestly, I would do it the exact same way again. The only better outcome would have been if I ignored it, and he kept lying to himself… I can't have that. I knew it was a stupid thing to do… I knew it! I open myself to him when I'm most vulnerable, and he slams me like that! How could he still love that doll? She proved that she would just go back to her ways the second there is any danger; is that someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with?! What's wrong with ME? Why won't he love ME? What did I do wrong?! I did everything she did for him, and more! I was the one that was there for him when we first started piloting Eva! I was the one that saved him from that island!

"God damn it!" I stop dead in my tracks on the sidewalk and punch a wall. I hang my head and cry, letting my tears fall to the floor. He's just like all the others! All people are the same! I say I care about someone, and the first chance they get they throw me to the curb and mock me! "Was this your plan…?" I fall to my knees and stare up at the sky, "Is this what you fucking wanted?! Stop playing games! Come down here now!" by now I'm on all fours, sobbing on the pavement.

It hurts… it actually hurts… this is why I promised myself to not let myself get attached to someone again… see what happens when you care?! See what happens when you try to help? THIS is what you get! This is what you deserve from the world!

"AHHH!!!" I slam my fist on the ground, numbing it instantly.

"You really are a child, aren't you?" I look up to see a blurred image of Kaji standing in front of me.

"Yes…" I stand up and meet him at close to eye level, "I AM a child! Why am I here? Why are any of us here? You said yourself that we're all going to die!"

"Then go home!" his voice rang my ears and echoed through the streets, "If you don't want to fight, then leave! I'm sick of you Asuka! I'm sick of you acting like the world revolves around you!" he puts his hands on my shoulders firmly, "You're not the only one in this, do you understand?" his voice calmed down, and was now barely above a whisper, "You are a wonderful young woman, but you have to stop giving up every chance you get," he stands up straight and looks down at me, "Now come on, I'll take you back to NERV or Japan, whichever you want," I climb into his yellow sports car and utter the single word that will change the course of my life.

---

Asuka's Room – 10:00 PM

Once again, I was alone… that's what I wanted. I don't want Shinji, I don't want Rei, and I sure as hell don't want anyone else, but I do want one thing. The only thing that I'm good at – that I've ever been good at. I've been raised my entire life to pilot for NERV, and that's exactly what I'll do… but I don't need anyone else. Wondergirl can shove her 'all knowing' attitude up her ass, and Shinji could not come home tonight for all I care. Why should I care about him when he doesn't return the favor? All I want to do is forget about him and focus on what's left of my piloting career… I won't be made a fool of by a little boy like him!

"Stop it…" I feel tears start to form in my eyes, "Stop it…" I'm not going to cry again! I refuse to break my promise again! "Stop it!" I plant my palms on my eyes, "It doesn't matter! None of this matters!" my entire body goes limp as I fall back onto the bed, once again staring at the ceiling, "It doesn't matter… four days from now, nothing will be left…" that night I came to a realization that no person should ever have to go through. All the world's knowledge, all people, and all relationships will come to an end without anything to show for it… and I just let myself cry.

A/N – I'll tell you something, I do NOT want to go back to school tomorrow. I've been on a serious writing streak this weekend! Well, expect a few more chapters fairly quickly, because I've still got quite a bit to do. Check out the next chapter; Mind Games. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	16. Mind Games

Chapter 16: Mind Games

Asuka's Room – 7:00 AM

"Asuka? Are you awake?" for the third time in the last half hour, Misato knocked on my door and tried to coax me outside, "I'm coming in," oh great, Gendo probably gave her a key. She was met with a sight that would put any film maker to shame; I was up to my chin in wadded up, twisted sheets with only half of my face showing, the other half being covered by fine, red hair, "Are you okay?" for the first time in years, I heard a mother tone from someone. She takes a seat next to me and moves aside my hair to catch a glimpse of beat red eyes, "Honey, what happened?"

"Do you have any idea what is going to happen…?" my voice was hoarse, and even I hated to hear it.

"Of course I do, but how is this any different from piloting Eva?" she continues to stroke my hair, sending goose bumps down my spine.

"Because we weren't guaranteed to die in an Eva… at least then we had some kind of hope… now, there's nothing… why even bother getting up?"

"So that's what this is about… listen Asuka, I was about your age when the Second Impact hit. You have no idea what kind of hell we went through; I was an orphan, just like hundreds of other children, and they treated us like dogs. Three billion people were gone Asuka; did you think that we had hope? We actually were expecting a Third Impact any time soon, so we were all ready to just die. I realize what you're going through, and I understand your reaction, but you need to just get up and walk."

"You're… starting to sound like Kaji…" sounds like a direct quote from him actually, "And plus, you said yourself, you were ready to die. So am I. Why not just let it come like it's SUPPOSED to?" she takes a sigh and shakes her head.

"You could look at it that way. I admit, I've often thought about just letting God do as he planned, but are you really going to let a single being have that much control over you? How you live your life? If you do, then what was the point from the beginning? Your life is yours to live Asuka," she once again stands up and holds out a hand, "Now come on, I want you to see something," moving past her hand, I get out of bed and meet her eye to eye.

"Fine… it's still useless…" without a second thought, I walk past her and out into the hall. Misato trails fairly close behind me as I make my way through the seemingly endless corridors, but when we finally reach the hanger, my eyes lit up at the sight.

"She was the only thing outside of Adam that survived the explosion," standing in front of me, bound in restraints and chords exactly as I remember it, was my Unit-02, "You'll be piloting this first, and the rest of the angels second if needed."

"I… don't believe it…" it's not that I couldn't believe Unit-02 was standing there, that I was perfectly fine with, but what I couldn't believe is the feelings that were rushing my body out of nowhere. Five minutes ago I was in bed sulking because the world was coming to an end, and now I'm almost jumping for joy because I feel like an actual pilot again. It couldn't have mattered less that I only had a few days to live, all that had purpose at that time were my Eva and I.

"Looking… well, I see," and of course, Rei was the first to chime in as the other three pilots – already in plug suits – walked towards me. I was in a long button up shirt with my hair a mess and looking pale as ever, but why should it matter to her?

"Shut it First, I'm not here to please your eyes," she seemed mildly surprised at my reaction, but as with all other comments, she brushed it off. I see Shinji staring at my waist and I look him dead in the eye, "And what exactly are you gaping at?"

"What happened to your hand?" I look down at my right hand and see it swollen, bruised, and completely torn up. I immediately hide it in front of me as I walk away.

"As if YOU care," I go back to my room and get dressed in my plug suit, dreading the fact that my swollen hand could still be made out through the soft rubber material. I should have Akagi look at this… I really could have broken something back there, "That… idiot…"

---

Hanger – 8:00 AM

"Asuka, you're doing great! You're at a ninety-eight percent sync ratio!" the highest I've gotten on the angels was an eighty something with Iruel… I knew my Eva still loved me! "Unfortunately, we can't let you take out your Eva like we have been doing with the angels, so you'll have to stay inside and just work on some target practice. Are you up to that?" she talks like there was much of a choice.

"Sure, why not," as all links were cut off and the plug was being ejected, I hold my right hand in pain. Now that I'm actually using it to pilot, it throbs with every heartbeat, "I can't believe I was so stupid…"

"About what, hm?" Misato opens the hatch and smiles down at me, "About getting all depressed when your Eva was here? Admit it Asuka, you had a huge mood swing after you saw her!" so what if I was happy in here? I've traveled from house to house my entire life; this plug was the only thing I saw as an actual home.

"It's not like I'm in love with it, I just like to be here," I climb out of the LCL and dry off with a towel hanging nearby, "When will the whole target thing be ready?"

"Well aren't we antsy? It'll probably take an hour or two, so you might as well go grab some breakfast," without a word, I follow her advice and head towards the cafeteria… which was about the only place in this country sized building I knew how to get to. I've heard that this place was originally meant as a storage for humans after the Second Impact, so the food storage and selection was that of a world class buffet… though I just decided on a muffin. I've learned throughout the years that a full stomach plus piloting equals very cloudy LCL…

"Asuka, hey," oh damnit… why him? "Yo, Soryu, can ya hear me?"

"Yes Toji, I can hear you just fine… what do you need?" I was walking right past his table when he called me, and without a word he kicked out the chair opposite to him, "Uh, actually, I-I gotta get going."

"Oh… okay, see ya," looking slightly depressed, he takes a bite of the eggs that were in front of him. I couldn't help but see a little of myself in the way he was looking; it's not like he had a really emotional face on or anything, but the way he was holding himself was… odd… for him at least, "I thought you had ta go?" with a sigh, I take the seat he kicked out.

"Okay, what's the deal? Why are you acting like that?" I can't believe I'm saying this, but where the hell is his attitude?!

"… ya know about my sis, right?" I just shake my head, "In Shinji's first battle, she was outside and got hurt… bad. Head trauma, a few busted bones, that sorta thing. It was touch n' go for awhile, but last year she finally got out," he still hasn't made eye contact with me, staring at his plate the entire time.

"Well? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Hikari called me today… she died fromma hemorrhage… last night…" the emotion on his face stays the same, but his hands begin to shake as he rests his forehead on them.

"Toji… I'm so sorry," I hate situations like this… I never know what to do.

"She was the reason I started pilotin… why I kept pilotin after the accident…" finally, I see tears start to form in his eyes as he looks up at me, "What am I supposed to do here?" why did he choose ME to tell all this to? I've never been the more compassionate type of person, and people know that, so why?

"Toji, I'm really not the right person to ask advice from… all I can really say is that if you stop piloting, you might as well have never started. It's obviously your decision, but if you're gone," what I said next actually surprised both him and I, "We'll really be losing something," unable to take this emotional crap anymore, I stand up and begin to walk away.

"Thanks…" I couldn't really tell if he was being sarcastic or truly thankful, but I decided not to dwell on it. It's not that I hate him, I just don't necessarily like him… not like that's anything special though. He's just another mouth that never stops talking, that's it. I feel bad for him, of course I do, but there's nothing I can do about it outside of lend a few words, which I'm sure helped very little.

Two more days… and it could be less, Rei never said what time. Hell, it could be tomorrow at one in the morning, there's no telling… it really couldn't matter less to me though. I've cried all I needed to, I've sulked, and more or less, I've come to terms with it. Do I want it to happen? Of course not, but it's not like I'm dreading it; I've never really been one to try and fight what's coming to me. I mean really, the only reason I'm even going to pilot is because of what Rei said.

By now I made my way to the far side of the cafeteria, far from Toji's sight, and sit down alone at a small round table. After what just happened, my appetite was absolutely zero, and I resorted to fiddling with the crumbs that fell onto the table, "Damn…" my hand was still killing me, and it seemed like even the breeze from the nearby air conditioner was pounding on it. After almost half an hour of just sitting in silence, I get up, leaving the food behind for the janitors. As much as I hate to do it, I really better get this looked at; with my luck it'll be the one thing that screws me up in battle.

As I was walking, I came to realize that I haven't had a moment of dispare since Misato coaxed me out of bed. Not a single negative thought, no regret, nothing… it was unlike anything I've experienced… and I was oddly neither happy or sad, I just was. My surroundings seemed to make sense just the way they were for no reason at all; just the fact that they're there was enough. Nothing mattered – not Eva, not the angels, not Shinji, not even myself. I was just at peace… I really didn't understand it.

"Dr. Akagi?" I finally get up to the control booth where she was alone, monitoring Shinji and Rei's piloting, "Can you do me a favor?" without looking up from her clipboard, she responded with her typical tone.

"What kind of favor?"

"Last night, I…" crap! I can't tell her the truth! "I fell down the stairs on the way to my room," I'm almost positive that she didn't buy it, but she played along, "Could you take a look at it?"

"Sure, just go to the infirmary across the hall and change into a gown. I'll be with you in a few minutes," doing as I was told, I set my plug suit aside and get into that frightfully embarrassing hospital gown… I just decided to lay in the bed after seeing it. As promised, she walked in, still holding the clipboard that seems to be welded to her hands, and looked down at me, "So what happened now? You fell?"

"Yeah…" with a smirk, she takes hold of my right hand.

"How badly does it hurt? Are you able to move it naturally?" I answered her barrage of questions, and in the end it was all solved with a simple thirty second X-ray, "Yeah, you have two fractured proximal phalanges," I just look up at her with a raised eyebrow, "Jesus, what do they teach you in school? You broke two bones on the third knuckle."

"You could have just said that," I knew something was broken…

"It's no big deal though, they'll heal on their own after a few weeks. Just don't put any stress on it and you'll be fine," easy for her to say; does she have any idea how hard it is to move those controls?! "Now, how about the truth on how this happened? You obviously hit something with a fist, and I don't know about you, but when I fall I don't punch the floor upon landing," smart ass…

"Okay, well-" I was about to tell her part of what happened, but for once I was happy to see red lights flashing and alarms blaring, "That's my cue," I get up and grab my plug suit as I run out of the office. Along the way, I find a dark corner to get changed, and within thirty seconds I was in Unit-02's entry plug, getting ready to take off… wait… this isn't supposed to happen yet! What the hell is going on?! Misato pops up on a monitor with a worried look on her face.

"Everyone, it's time," she was obviously speaking to all of us at once, "We're not sure what's going on, but the earth has a massive AT field surrounding it, and there's a central point of stress above us. I want you all in the same spot, even you Toji," was he even piloting yet? "Stay on earth, and do NOT leave the atmosphere. Are you all ready?"

"Gotcha," Toji…

"Yeah," Shinji…

"Affirmative," Rei…

"…" I was absolutely speechless. As of right now, I was the only one not on the surface, and I couldn't have felt more safe… but the second I hit the surface, I felt this overwhelming sense of dispare. Nothing was around us, nothing was different, but just the tension was… almost scary.

Rei was in Zeruel, which was kind of unfortunate for her seeing as that's the one she does the worst in. Apparently handling those blade ribbons is too much for her. Shinji was piloting Israfel, and he has yet to split up into two angels. Of course, Toji was hovering a few hundred feet above us, and I was in my beloved Unit-02. I was the first to catch the sight above us, which wasn't surprising at all. It started off as no more than an extremely faint star in the day sky, but it grew rapidly as it either descended or just plain got bigger… I really couldn't tell which one it was.

"Unidentified object spotted five kilometers above the earth's surface!" one of the NERV employees calls out through the audio link.

"Okay kids," Misato once again appears to us, "We have no idea what you'll be going up against, so please just be careful. Toji, are you able to see what it is?"

"Nah, it's just some light in the sky," I feel my heart pounding as the ball of light came closer and closer to us; by Akagi's last update, it was about two kilometers above us, but we still had no idea what it was. Almost three minutes pass before we could even clearly see it, and not a single sound could be heard out of anyone witnessing it.

"Ahhh, holy crap!" sounding slightly sarcastic, Shinji begins to yell. I turn to see his angel begin to float towards the sky and towards the hanger, "Hey, what's going on?!" out of instinct, I try to fire my rifle, but the trigger wouldn't even budge.

"Why aren't any of you helping him?!" Misato once again yells over the link.

"I can't move!" Toji was the first to respond, and Rei agreed with him shortly after. Hell, I could move just fine, my weapons just weren't working! Suddenly, Israfel turned into an exact copy of the ball of light we've been watching, leaving Shinji, still in his plug suit, falling out of thin air. I still don't know why I reacted the way I did, especially with how I currently felt about him, but it was almost as if I had no control over what I was doing. Dropping the rifle, I jet towards the hanger and catch Shinji as softly as possible in Unit-02's hand. He was obviously okay with the fall, judging by his reaction of rubbing the back of his head after getting up.

"Sachiel, Matariel and Sahaqiel are all showing irregular thought patterns!" thought patterns? These things still have brains?! "All of Shinji's angels are leaving the hanger! Asuka, put Shinji down and stop them!" yeah, like that's going to work… I swear, Misato can really be an idiot sometimes… never the less, I follow orders and drop Shinji in the ocean of LCL that used to hold his angels.

"What the hell is going on?!" I grab onto Sahaqiel's orange 'arms' as it lifts me into the sky, "Screw this!" I let go and fall flat onto Toji's angel. What happened to actually, oh, I don't know, FIGHTING?!

"Toji, Rei, we're ejecting your entry plugs, all of the angels have regained consciousness!" … she's joking, right…?

"Whoa, am I going to have to fight all of them?! I can take two, three tops!" I wasn't expecting to win, but I was at least looking forward to a good fight, not an ass whooping!

"Asuka, listen carefully," Akagi comes over my video link, "All of the angels are attempting to leave the base, but none of them are showing any signs of aggression. We think that the same thing that happened with Shinji will also happen to Toji and Rei; forget the angels, just do not let them fall! Do you understand?"

"I guess, but what-"

"Asuka! Pay attention!" just as she said, Rei's angel transformed into that ball of light as she began to fall. I was able to catch her a little more gracefully this time… at least I think. She stood right up in my Eva's hand with that emotionless face still on… that just isn't natural.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Toji's angel began to fly towards the sky, "H-Hey! Help me out here! I can't stop!" Akagi said that his entry plug merged Toji with Arael… Toji IS the angel, that's why God is taking him, just like the rest… "Help me!" and with that, his angel disappeared. I watched helplessly as Misato, Akagi, and Gendo were all yelling at me to do something, but what could I do? Twelve angels were all active at once; it looked like something out of an over done sci-fi movie… all of these monsters floating towards the sky… and just as suddenly as it all started, they were gone… feeling defeated, I kneel down and set Rei on a street and await for my plug to be drawn out.

"I couldn't do anything…" my plug was completely black, as I ran out of internal power quite awhile ago, "I really couldn't do anything…" I knew I was crying, but the LCL took my tears away the instant they were formed. What seemed like hours pass in that tube; just me, sitting in the dark, hearing Toji's screams on constant repeat.

"…" my head pops up as I feel the same way I did when I was first put on the surface. That eerie, desolate feeling… I knew something was happening… "Asuka."

"Ah!" I let out a small scream of fright as I hear my name in a voice that wasn't in one central location, "W-What… the hell?" all of my senses go numb outside of my vision, which was only able to pick up my body floating in a sea of black.

"Accept me," that voice again… I whip my head in all directions, looking for any trace of… well, anything! Out of the blackness, I see a familiar arm, but somehow, this was the first time I've ever laid eyes on it. It was as if I know who it is quite well, but yet it was a complete enigma to me… "Accept me," the voice repeats as the hand in front of me presents itself. With a shaking hand, I place my right hand on the man's palm. The instant I did that, all of the pain of my previous injury vanished, along with the cuts and bruises.

"… you're God, aren't you…?" the hand begins to move towards me, and rests on my cheek. My body was completely paralyzed, but not from Him; His touch was so… I can't even describe it… my body was just instantly relaxed just by a simple touch on the cheek. I close my eyes; I've never felt this level of relaxation before… His hand slides down my neck, past my chest, and comes to a rest on my stomach. Once again, that warmth that had relaxed me so greatly before was now coursing through my entire body, as if it had always been there… and I suddenly realized everything that was happening to me… I put my hand on top of His, still resting on my stomach, and somehow manage to speak in a tone that even I could barely hear, "I understand…"

A/N – Anyone hear the Twilight Zone theme? Check out the next chapter; Adalia. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	17. Adalia

Chapter 17: Adalia

Gendo's Office – 9:30 AM – Same Day

"You allowed Toji to leave, you disobeyed a direct order, you injured another pilot, and you destroyed thousands of dollars worth of national property," of course, I was being lectured by Gendo… which came basically the second they opened my entry plug, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, I'm a little tired, and I really want to get some sleep… a good meal would do too. You got anything that could has a little more than the nutritional value of smoking crack around here?" with both my arms and legs crossed, I give a typical smart ass answer.

"Excuse me young lady?" Dr. Akagi was standing right behind him with her jaw dropped and eyes wide open. Apparently she's not familiar with my work… "You will not speak to your commander that way!"

"Oh, is this the same commander that caused this whole mess? None of that would have happened if you weren't so damn secretive all the time," I stand up and rub my eyes as I make my way towards the door, "Listen, I'll see you guys later, I'm gonna go catch a few hours of sleep. Later," both of them were completely speechless; what were they gonna do, fire me? I'm the only one that can fight now, Unit-02's the only one left, and it'll only accept me as its pilot… plus, I doubt that I'll have to pilot anytime soon. I make a B line straight for the locker room where my night clothes were hanging. As I finish changing, Misato sneaks up behind me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"You did all you could Asuka, don't let anyone tell you otherwise," I just chuckle as I turn around to face her. Of course I did all I could, and more, but that couldn't matter less at this point… nothing could matter less than one fact, "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"No reason. Here, come with me, I need to speak with you," my room wasn't even two minutes away from the locker, so without a word I guided her inside.

"What's all this about?" I fall back onto my bed and stare at the all too familiar ceiling.

"Take a seat, I gotta ask you something," doing as she was told, she sits down in the arm-chair next to the bed, "I'm just gonna come right out and say it. Misato, I know that you've been around the block a few times, right?""That's… not really your business…" that priceless annoyed face that she used all too often when living with Shinji and I never gets old…

"You act like it's a secret Misato. Anyway," I sit up, facing her, and rest my chin on my folded knees, "Uh…" okay, this is proving to be a little harder than I imagined… "Well… what's small, bald, toothless, and tends to end up in toilets on prom night?"

"Asuka! Are you accusing me of being pregnant?! I haven't even seen Kaj-… I haven't slept with anyone since I came back!" way to let the cat out of the bag there…

"Oh no, not at all, you'd be a horrible mother," I let out a nervous laugh, "Let me put it this way; someone here is pregnant, and it's probably not that person's fault…"

"Y-You're…" just as I expected, she falls to the floor after passing out. A lot of help she was… and here I thought she'd be the only person that wouldn't freak out all too much… I can't imagine what'll happen when word gets out, "Gendo's gonna kill me…"

"Oh, you're awake," she leaps up and grabs my shoulders.

"How long have you known this?! Who's the father?! How far along are you?! For the love of God, tell me you haven't told Akagi!"

"Let's see… a few hours, no idea, no idea, and hell no… respectively… see, what I don't get is that, from what I've heard at least, you need to actually have sex to get pregnant… did someone not send me the memo?" she let her head hang and let out a deep sigh.

"Jesus Asuka, that's not funny, don't freak me out like that. If you had questions about sex, you could have just asked."

"Oh, I'm not joking, I'm pregnant, I just don't get how, you know? I woke up from a dream I was having in the Eva, and when I got out I just kinda knew that… well, you know," I saved her the details, but right after I got out I went to the bathroom and used one of those twenty-five cent tests you can get out of the dispensers in the bathroom. Ever since the Second Impact, people have actually been encouraged to breed as much as possible to bring the population back up, so they made it as easy as possible to tell when you're pregnant.

"You're… really not joking…?" I shake my head, "And you swear you're a virgin?"

"Who am I gonna sleep with, Kaji?" though I wouldn't actually mind that… oh stop it! You're a mother now you sick fuck!

"Okay then… but you know we have to tell Akagi, right? She'll be able to help us out… I don't know how, but she will. Now…" she gives me a concerned look, "If you really are pregnant, do you want an abortion?" the second she finished that sentence, a piercing migraine shot through my skull.

"Don't you dare say that!" I grasp my head with both hands as I scream. I have no idea what compelled me to react the way I did, but just the thought of killing this baby was… insane… so much to the point that it actually caused me pain… "If anyone tries to hurt her, I'll kill them!"

"Asuka! Calm down!" how could she even present that idea?! Is that the kind of woman she is?! "Shhhh, it's okay," she takes me into a soft hug, "You'll be a great mother, I'm sorry," I knew she was only saying that to try and calm me down, but somehow it actually worked, "We'll go talk to Akagi and see how far along you are, okay?" all I could do was nod…

---

Akagi's Office

"You're WHAT?!" as expected, she didn't exactly take it well, "Asuka, that's not possible! People don't just randomly become pregnant, it doesn't work that way!" I hate it when people talk to me like I'm some little kid. As if I don't know how this happens! "Come on now, really, who did you sleep with? Legally, I can't tell anything you tell me, so if it's about word getting out, don't let that be an issue. Was it Shinji? Toji? Someone from Tokyo?" and there goes my appetite…

"As if I would let either one of them touch me! Believe what you want, but I'm telling the truth – I'm. A. Virgin," not that I'm surprised no one believes me, but it would be nice to have SOME support, you know?

"Fine, be difficult. Please lay on your back, I'll be right back with the ultrasound," you know, sometimes, Akagi can be a real bitch. With a sigh, I do as I was told. I just know she's going to make this humiliating somehow…

"For what it's worth, I believe you Asuka… but be honest, do you really want this baby? I mean, you ARE only sixteen," age has nothing to do with it, which is what people don't understand. I don't know why, but I feel compelled to have this child, even though a girl my age would normally be dreading it. I still don't get how this happened though… is it possible for an Eva to impregnate someone? I mean, they are modeled after humans, so it would make sense…

"Okay, come on now, pull up your shirt. Let's see just what's going on in there," I pulled my long t-shirt up past my stomach, and immediately when I finished she placed when looked like a heated blanket on me, "This is a new type of sonogram, it'll let me zoom in to see the fetus, because at this point it's probably no bigger than a grain of rice," Ms. Know it all, aren't we? "Okay, let's see here…" the small screen comes to life with a grey blob on the screen… yep, that's real clear, "Hold on a second," she turns a dial and a perfect black and white image shows up with a picture of my uterus… I knew she was going to make this embarrassing!

"You wanna just cut out the middle man and have me strip down? Come on Akagi, at least show some effort in keeping my dignity intact!" with a chuckle, she presses one of five buttons on the monitor. A small loading bar with the word 'searching' popped up, and soon enough the image changed to what looked like a wall with a tennis ball stuck to it.

"Yep, there it is. Looks like it's barely out of the blastocyst period and just entering the implantation stage. Right now it only has a few hundred cells, but a few weeks from now we'll be able to see an actual fetus. Now Asuka, let me tell you something," she points to the little ball on the screen, "THAT is the result of a sperm meeting an egg, which means you're either lying about having sex, or for some reason you felt the need to visit a sperm bank," this woman better watch her tone… "But either way, your hymen will be broken… which leads me to another function of this machine. With your permission, I'd like to check that."

"Do whatever you want, I know I'm telling the truth," BITCH!

"Okay then, I'll have to move this a little lower so if you don't mind…" as if any of my pride is left, whatever. Trying not to expose anything, I move the blanket right along as I pull down my shorts.

"I can't believe you Akagi…" I could feel my face on fire as I turn away from the screen; no one needs to see that, not even me.

"Um… wow…"

"Wow WHAT?" Misato cuts in, probably feeling as anxious as I am.

"She's telling the truth…" I yank up my shorts and pull down my shirt, leaping off the bed in the process.

"I told you! But nooooo, assume I'm a slut right away!"

"This is no joking matter Asuka, this shouldn't be possible. When did you find all this out?" come to think of it, when DID I realize it? I mean sure, it really hit me after I left Eva, but did it happen before then? No…

"Well like I said, I figured it out right after the so-called battle. You guys took so long to come and get me I fell asleep in the entry plug, and when I woke up the door was being opened. I guess that's when I realized it," for some reason, she gave me a very confused look.

"You fell asleep? Asuka, you were only in there for five minutes before you were ejected, and the MAGI never picked up you sleeping in that time."

"Are you crazy?! I was in there for at least three hours!"

"Asuka, it's only ten, you went out into battle at eight, and the last hour we've been talking about this," Misato puts her hand on my shoulder as my eyes go wide, "I want you to tell us exactly what happened in there, okay?" it just hit me… I thought it was just a dream, but…I know what happened now…

"She's…" I put my trembling hand on my stomach and close my eyes, "… the next Messiah… I spoke with Him in my dream… and He gave me Adalia…" I don't know where I got that name from, or even the fact that it was a girl, but I just knew it to be true… I'm the next virgin mother? Why me? I fought against God, why would he give me his second child?

"Asuka, you can't really believe that, can you?"

"I know it sounds crazy… but do you have a better explanation Akagi? I specifically remember speaking with Him, I remember his touch, and I remember the feeling I had when I was around Him. This whole thing is about God anyway! What if Kaji was wrong? What if we're being rewarded for some reason?" now that I was just pulling out of thin air, but it sounded right at the time.

"I… just don't know… listen, Asuka, I want you to go back to your room and rest up, okay? You've had a long day. I need to speak to the commander about this…" doing as I was told, I get dressed back into my clothes, hurry back to my room, and fall back onto the bed. I just needed to get away from them… hell, I could use some time away from myself, too. I can't believe how calm I am about this whole thing… not only am I pregnant, but with God's freaking daughter on top of that! Even though I was scared out of my mind, by no means was I dreading this. In fact, I can't wait to become a mother! I guess I'm kind of in the same boat as my mom; I'm having a child by a man I've never even met, but she's literally bred for greatness.

"Adalia…" I place my hand on my stomach and relax. I know I've heard the name before somewhere, but I really couldn't say where exactly – it just sort of came to me. I guess that's more or less irrelevant at this point; what really matters is how Gendo is going to deal with it. Unfortunately, Misato is my guardian, and she takes orders from Gendo directly… he can do whatever he wants. Knowing him, all he'll see is that we're at war with God, and this is His child… I can't think that way…

---

Same Place – 5:00 PM

I once again found myself floating in that black void, the only visible thing being my own body. I was in a state where I wasn't asleep, but I was necessarily awake either; my pulse was low, my breathing rate was extremely slow, and I was just floating in my sea of comfort. I couldn't help but to muster a small smile, realizing that this is exactly what happened last time.

"I… don't understand it…" with my eyes still closed, I speak into the darkness, "Why? Why chose someone who has been fighting you all these years?" I wait, but no answer comes, "I see… I still don't know what you want me to do, but I don't have much of a choice, do I? All I can do is have her, the rest is up to you."

"Soryu," suddenly, I was yanked out of my comforting black sea and back into reality. I once again open my eyes to see Ayanami hovering above me.

"How'd you get in my room?!" I sit up and glare at her, but she simply remains still with that unnatural expression on her face.

"I have heard that you are bearing a child, is this true?" of great, is SHE knows, so does the rest of the country… I roll my eyes and nod, "Let me inform you of something," she leans in close to me and uses her red eyes to stare into my soul, "I saw you and Shinji. I may have disconnected from him, but I will not be replaced so easily."

"Yeah, I'm gonna stop ya there," I place my finger on her forehead and push her back, "It's not his, and me going out with him was a stupid mistake that I won't make again, got it? So you can drop the whole 'tough girl' act, because really First, it's not fooling anyone."

"It's… not Ikari's?" I reply with a stern 'no', "… Suzahara…?"

"Get out!" I push her out of my room, fuming that she actually came in here to reprimand me for possibly sleeping with her prick of a boyfriend. Even if I did, what business is it of hers? Not even two seconds after she was outside, I go to close my door… that is, before a foot blocked it, "Didn't you just hear me?!" I once again swing open the door to see Gendo standing in the hall, "Oh, it's you… I assume you're here for Adalia?"

"So you've named it already, have you? I recommend that you do not get too attached, the relationship will not last long."

"Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?! You're not going to kill her!"

"Of course not, that would be foolish. In fact, we want her to be born; afterwards, however, she will not be under your supervision. 'Adalia', as you put it, is in fact what you claim it to be. Prophecies speak of the second coming of Jesus; apparently this is it. We cannot allow to take care of a child that has the capabilities of destroying-" with tears flooding my eyes, I slap him as hard as I could, ending with a simple turn of head on his part.

"Don't you dare say that about her! He could easily kill us all with a single thought, he doesn't need some baby to do it for him! Adalia is MY child, do you get that?" he remains silent as he turns to face me once again, "Do you?!"

"I fail to see how this is your decision. I only have what's best for mankind in mind, one child will not make a difference."

"But it's MY child! How could you separate a child from its parent like that?" by now tears were flowing down my face, falling down past my trembling body and onto the floor, "You might have done that with your son, but I'll die before I let you do that to my daughter!" suddenly, a pain shoots through my stomach that brought me to my knees in pain, "Damn… it…" every time someone threatens her, I get this horrible pain somewhere on my body… but this one wasn't subsiding in the least, "H-Help… me…" I was in a tightly curled ball on the floor, squirming like an injured bug. Finally, the pain comes to a stop in the form of me blacking out.

---

Infirmary – 1:00 AM

With a deep gasp, I once again gain consciousness, only to find myself in a hospital bed, staring at the all too familiar ceiling. What happened back there? He was just standing there when I fell… could he have injected me with something? It wouldn't be that hard to hide from my eyes, I was pretty close to him… no, he may be a prick, but he wouldn't drug someone.

"Oh, you're awake," I look to my right to see Misato sitting in the chair; she had apparently been there the entire time, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine… do you know what happened?" knowing Misato, she's probably just as clueless as I was.

"Well… okay, promise me you won't freak out, okay? Look at your stomach," she points to the ball of sheets covering my body. I lift them up to see a bulge the size of a four-month pregnant woman…

"Holy shit!" jumping at the sheer surprise of this, I fall out of bed and right onto my back, "What the hell is this?! Did you people do something to me?!" this isn't natural! I'm only a day pregnant! Maybe Gendo did drug me…

"No one really has any idea," I look on the opposite side of the room to see Akagi walking through the door, "In fact, the baby is still growing extremely quickly. By the end of the night, you should be equivalent to a woman at the end of her second trimester, and if this keeps up, you'll give birth tomorrow," I instantly go pale at her comment, "Actually, your body is defying quite a few of the laws of physics. For one, your baby is growing extremely quickly; this would be acceptable if you were overweight and losing fat, or if you were eating excessively… however, matter is being formed in your womb that did not exist anywhere in the universe earlier… in short, you're actually making atoms. Secondly, you should be dead at this point. You're body should have gone into shock by now because of the huge change, but it hasn't. Third-"

"I don't care about any of that! Back up a second; I'm giving birth TOMORROW?! Like, tomorrow tomorrow?"

"At about three in the afternoon actually… but that's only if this keeps up. We have no idea what's going on with your body right now, so you'll have to stay in this room so I can supervise you," she presents her hand to help me get up, and unlike normal, I actually take it, "Listen Asuka, forget what the Commander said. I spoke with him and he will let you keep her – and yes, it's a her – as long as you stay with NERV so we can keep an eye on her. I don't want you stressing out at all, just try and relax as much as possible, okay?" I once again take a seat on the bed as I try to absorb everything I just heard. Hell, I was going to be just fine with the birth, but that was when I thought I would have nine months to cope with it! This is just too damn sudden!

"Do you have any GOOD news for me? Any at all?"

"Well, the baby is doing just fine. She's developing perfectly normal, so there's nothing to worry about that," there's nothing normal about this! "And, most of all, we suspect that the angels are gone for good. Lilith was taken out of old NERV's wreckage by the same force that took the rest of them, and no further attacks can be foreseen," while that last part was all fine and dandy, I couldn't focus on it to save me life! By this time tomorrow, I'll be a fucking mother!

"Hey, what about me, huh?"surprising even myself, I smile at the voice coming through the walls.

"Toji, I know the walls here are paper thin, but can we at least pretend they aren't?" Akagi really can't deal with stupidity, can she? "We found Toji passed out on the beach a little while ago."

"Yeah, they sent me back after they realized I wasn't the real deal."

"Okay Toji, enough, Asuka needs to get some rest," she sends a smile down my way, "I don't want you to be scared, okay? You're far along enough in puberty where there won't be any complications because of your age, and if we need to, we're able to put you to sleep while I deliver the baby," it's not the pain I'm worried about, I'm sure I've been through worse piloting Eva, it was the thought of bringing a life into the world that scared the crap out of me!

After a few more minutes of meaningless dialogue, Akagi insists that everyone leave so I could get some sleep… as if I could. Not only did I just wake up from an eight hour sleep, but my mind wouldn't stop racing about everything going on. For one, I can't believe that Akagi stood up to Gendo for me; I always thought that she was basically his doll. Never the less, I'm just glad she did, because he really could have taken her away from me… hell, still can… I better stay on his good side.

"All by myseeeelllf," being the moron he is, Toji begins to jokingly sing a song. I have to admit, I'm honestly glad that he's back, "Don't wanna be…" while he's still not exactly the person that I'd choose to be around, it's not as if he's worse than Shinji or Rei; at least he has a personality, "Noo moooore," maybe too much…

"You sing one more note and I'll gag you with a sock," silence fell over both our rooms… for the time being at least.

"So, you're havin a miracle baby, huh? Have ya named it yet?"

"Yeah, Adalia," come to think of it, he was the first person to even act like they cared about this whole issue.

"Ah, nice. Gotta admit Asuka, I've never thought of you as the kind of girl that would ever have kids, yet here you are with a bun in the oven right now," nice… terminology… "Ya know what I think?" not much? "I think you're gonna be a great mother. Like, the kind that's all involved with the kid's life, ya know?"

"Thanks…" I can't believe someone just said that to me… he just told me that I'm going to be a good mother… "Thanks Toji."

"Yeah, well, it's true. Just don't go postal on the girl's first date, okay?"I've always wanted to do the shotgun lecture! 'I ain't afraid of goin BACK to prison…'

"I'll think about it," he lets out a small laugh at my sarcastic comment. Nothing more was said that night, and oddly enough, I was somehow able to fall asleep just fine shortly after that. I really doubt that he'll ever realize just how much he said to me that night, he was able to take away all of the fear that was lurking inside me, and even I don't know how. I fall asleep with a smile on my face and an arm resting on my stomach, actually looking forward to tomorrow.

A/N – Okay, I'm not trying to be rude here guys, but I've gotten one review for the last four chapters. At this point, I'm only writing for fun, because the story has served its purpose, so it wouldn't affect me at all if I didn't post them. I don't want to go by the whole reviews for chapters thing like I did with my other stories, but if it doesn't pick up at least a little bit I'm going to. Anyway, that's enough of that; obviously, expect a very emotional chapter next time, and most likely some humor. Check it out next time in; Fiery Messiah. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	18. Fiery Messiah

Chapter 18: Fiery Messiah

Hospital Room – 6:00 AM

"This… isn't good…" I would have been able to sleep quite a bit longer, but I was jarred awake by a feeling that I've never experienced before… yeah, turns out she's a kicker. It wasn't necessarily painful, like so many women describe it, but it was more of an ongoing annoyance, similar to a growling stomach or cramp. My eyes were glued to my now huge stomach, and I couldn't help but think of what my body is going to look like after this… years of eating healthy, working out, and spending countless hours in the bathroom trying to look decent is all going to be thrown out the window for this. While I think it's a trade that I would make again, I'm still not happy about it in the least. Before all of this, I had a body fat percentage of, at the most, five, but I've seen women after giving birth… that's a hell of a lot more than five! On top of that, I don't even want to imagine the stretch marks that are going to form a road map of Nevada on my torso; with all of this sudden growing, I'm sure that there's no going back skin wise… well, at the very least, my face still looks good.

I shift in bed, trying to find a position that would help me become at least slightly comfortable, but it proves to be impossible, seeing as the discomfort is coming from inside me. I really hope that this isn't foreshadowing what she'll be like as a kid… I have to admit though, while as disgusting and slightly frightening this is, I'm slightly at ease knowing that she is safe and growing normally. However, these thoughts are suddenly replaced as yet another new feeling rushed through my body.

"God damn it… Akagi! You said it would be at three!" the lower part of the bed was drenched in the vile amniotic fluid, "Okay, seriously, there is nothing 'beautiful' about pregnancy… HEY! Anyone out there?! I got a problem in here!" of course, no one came, regardless of how loud I yelled, "Damn it Akagi… 'Oh, don't you worry Asuka, I'll keep a real close eye on you!'… then come out!" Adalia once again kicks from inside me, "Not you!" crap! What am I supposed to do here?! I've never even SEEN a birth take place, I don't know what goes on!

"Asuka? You okay in there?" Toji calls through the tin wall… I've never been so happy to hear his voice!

"Toji, don't screw around here, get up and find a nurse or something! Tell them to get Akagi over here!" silence struck both of our rooms as I become more agitated, "Toji! Did you hear me?!"

"Well, I'd love to, but I can't really get up myself, that's why I'm here. When they found me, one of my legs was broken, so… yeah… are you okay?" he has now stooped back to the level of idiot.

"No I'm not okay! How stupid can you be?! I can't do this alone!" once again, a new sensation started to take over my lower body. It started off as nothing more than a menstrual cramp, but within a few seconds, it elevated to a full on kick to the stomach. I've always been one to hold my breath when in pain, and it turns out that this isn't exactly the best habit to develop when giving birth. By the time it was over, I was seeing dots from the lack of oxygen, "Son of a bitch…" and it's only been a few minutes… "Toji… please get someone…" I begin to have a mild panic attack as it hits me that I might actually have to do this alone, "Please…"

"I can't! Asuka, just calm down, okay? I-I'm sure that someone will come by here soon."

---

10:00 AM

"AHHHH!" I once again clench the sheets as yet another contraction overwhelms by body. I've been at this for at least four hours, and almost nothing has changed. I can tell that she is slightly further down than when I started, but still nowhere close to coming out, "I can't do this anymore!" my body was drenched in sweat and my face was covered in tears, "She's not coming out!"

"Asuka, listen to me, ya have to calm down!"

"Oh shut up you illiterate son of a bitch! You have no idea what this is like!" I've already passed out a few times from holding my breath, but it always ends with me waking up and realizing that I'm still alone in this, "Okay…" I clench the sheets, once again preparing myself to push as hard as I could. Unfortunately, this seems to do close to zero to help, and all it really does is cause me more pain. Never the less, I know for a fact that it really won't ever come out if I don't push, so there's really no choice, "Damn it…"

"Hey Asuka, are you- oh my God!" I turn to see Misato standing in the doorway with a can of beer I her hand, "Hold on, I'll go get Akagi," for the first time since all this started, I was able to smile and relax all of my body.

"About time…" of course, Ritsuko eventually came in with a hoard of doctors and machines. The first thing they did was shatter my dignity by putting my legs up on those bracers, just so everyone could get a real clear view… assholes. Even with this humiliating layout, just the thought that Misato was there holding my hand with the best NERV had to offer medically brought me into an almost euphoria-like state. By this time, I knew that everything was going to turn out for the better… or, at the very least, this birth.

"Asuka, I need you to stay awake, okay?" before, staying awake wasn't a problem at all, but when they got here I realized just how tired I was. I've had these lead weights on my eyes plenty of times before, but never as severe; every time I even blinked I had to fight to get them back open.

"Can't…" how the hell am I supposed to stay awake after all that?! "Oh hell…" once again, a contraction began to possess my body, instantly waking me up.

"It's crowning! Asuka, stop pushing!" now why the hell would I do that?! I want this thing out of me! Never the less, I follow what she says, "Okay, you're almost done. To avoid tearing, just let the contractions do the rest, do you understand?"

"Tearing?! What the fuck is that?!" as if I didn't know…

"Something you really don't want, now try and relax," oh sure, two seconds ago she was yelling at me to wake up, and now she's telling me to relax! Trying to put past my annoyance, I lean my head back, and for the first time since I started, attempt to catch my breath. I knew that they were talking around me, but all I heard was a faint, low humming noise.

Knowing that it's not long until I get to see Adalia was… amazing, for lack of a better word. I really can't describe what it's like to know that your own child is coming into the world, and no words are able to truly depict what I'm feeling. I'm not scared, worried, or even the least bit anxious – only happy… that's it. I always thought that mothers were being overly dramatic when they say that all the pain was worth it, but now it's almost impossible to say what I wouldn't give for this, let alone a few hours of pain.

At this point, I think my body has made a natural anesthetic for itself, because there's close to zero pain where there should be; the rest of body hurts just from strain, but that's it. Because of this, the last few minutes – though I have no idea how long it was – went by fairly quickly. One contraction got Adalia's entire head out, and from that point she was completely exposed in a few seconds from one last push. I've had my eyes closed since Akagi told me I could relax, finding it impossible to open them again. When my child was finally out, I waited just long enough to hear crying before passing out from exhaustion.

According to Misato, I was out for almost two hours, but it felt like no more than a few seconds. When I finally was awake, I found myself in a completely different room, but still in the hospital. Straining to sit up in my bed, I feel the pain of the past action, but I also see that my stomach was flat. Just by breathing I was able to tell that my voice was close to non-existent, which comes as little surprise to anyone in the entire hospital. I swing my legs over to the edge of the bed and stand up… which really doesn't last long, as I fall to my knees almost immediately. Yeah, turns out I'm just a little weak from the whole process. Never the less, I was able to struggle to my feet as I slowly make my way to the bathroom.

"Now there's the image of beauty…" God, I've never seen myself so let go. My hair was stray and pointing in every direction possible, making me look slightly like that girl from The Exorcist. Of course, my skin was milk white from lack of blood, and the whites of my eyes were almost as red as the hair surrounding them. My first instinct was to take a shower, but I really didn't want to risk passing out in there, which is an extreme possibility. For now, I settle for at least straightening out my hair a little with tap water from the sink, which soon turned into me simply drinking the water. Despite the countless bags of IV that they pumped into me, I was still dehydrated beyond belief, so this lasted almost five minutes. In reality, it would have lasted quite a bit longer if I didn't hear my door open.

"Asuka, what are you doing out of bed? You're in no condition to be walking around," I turn to see Misato standing in the doorway with a tray of food… sure, it was only a sandwich and a bottle of orange juice, but that had to have been the most glamorous try of food I've seen in my entire life.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," still standing, I grab the food and take a bite, "How's Adalia?" she just gives me a sweet smile.

"She's perfectly fine. She's with Akagi right now sleeping; we thought that it would be best if you got some rest without an infant waking you up," now that has to be the stupidest thing I've heard in my life… and I lived with Third.

"You do know that I'm going to see her, right?" still eating, I walk past her to make a point… that is, until I realize that I have no idea where I'm going. I turn back around to see a smirking Misato, obviously dying to make a sarcastic comment, "Shut up, just take me to her, really," I sounded almost pleading with that statement, but I try to ignore it.

"Okay, okay, just try and take it easy, okay? You need help walking?" as if I'm going to slump down to the level of leaning on someone for support!

"No, I'm fine," with about a minute of walking, we finally arrive at Akagi's – what I assume to be – office. Without knocking, I barge in to see one of those clear cribs you see in hospitals next to Ritsuko working on another one of her papers.

"Oh, Asuka, you're awake already?" without a word, I walk towards Adalia's crib, preparing myself to see my daughter for the first time. For the first time in years, my breath was actually taken away by another human being; she was… perfect… somehow, she had a full head of straight red hair the exact same tint as mine, and her face was completely flawless… I can't even comprehend myself just what it was like to look at her, "She's been asleep ever since she was born," Akagi takes her place next to me, "I do have some odd news though…"

"What? Is she okay?" my head whips towards her with obvious fear in my eyes.

"Whoa, calm down, she's fine, but there's something very odd about her. When I was entering her into the MAGI as your daughter, the computer wouldn't accept her DNA transcription. After I dug into it a little, I found something out; it wouldn't accept her because she has the exact same genetic makeup as you do. In short, she's basically your clone," … what?

"Sorry, that went over my head… what did you just say?"

"I know it sounds odd, and I still don't understand it, but it's true. See, to put it simply, making a female clone Is much easier because the X chromosome is the dominant one. If the Y is either inactive or not present, the fetus automatically goes to the female sex… but that's with two sex chromosomes. Somehow, she only has one X chromosome, from you obviously… which is impossible. She only has twenty-two pairs of chromosomes with one sex… yeah, I don't get it, she shouldn't have even gotten past the blastocyst stage."

"Not trying to sound rude here, but… well, so?" as sarcastic as that may have sounded, that was an honest question, "Really, does it matter? I mean, she IS the child of God, she can defy all the medical laws she wants," can't really argue with that one.

"Well, I just thought that you'd like to know," sure, I'm glad she told me about the whole clone thing, but I couldn't care less WHY it happened.

"So Asuka," Misato speaks up from behind us, "You gonna pick her up or what?" with a smile, I look back down at her crib.

"No, not yet, just let her sleep… she's had a long day," hell, so have I, "I'm going back to sleep, but she's going in the room with me."

"Okay, that's no problem," damn straight it's not blondie. Akagi stays behind as Misato pushed the crib on wheels back to my room, where she departed with a few final words of encouragement. The crib couldn't have been closer to my bed, and thankfully, it was level with me. Laying on my side, I was able to fall asleep while staring through the plastic shield separating me and my child, a small smile on my face the entire time.

---

Hospital Room – 3:00 PM

I wake up to the slight sound of shuffling of sheets in the small crib next to me, and tears of joy instantly take over my eyes. Hell if I know why, but just seeing her move was one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life. I struggle to stand up and look down at my child, kicking with her eyes closed. With a soft 'shh', I place my hand on her silk hair, and the movement instantly stops. After a few seconds of arguing with myself, I decide to at least try and hold her. I reach into her crib as the famous words 'support the head!' ring through my mind… yeah, that's about all I know. Somehow, she seemed to just fall naturally in my arms. Shortly after I picked her up, her eyes opened for the first time to me… and it was actually beautiful, and not just because I was her mother.

The first thing I noticed was crystal clear blue eyes, similar to mine… but then I saw the whole picture. Her both of her eyes were the same color, but the right eye had a single horizontal red stripe on the left side of her pupil. Now, when I say red, I don't mean Ayanami red, I mean actual red, the kind you find in a typical color palate. Completely forgetting that she was supposed to be a clone of myself, I just smile down at her as she laid eyes on me for the first time. I take a seat in the arm chair across the room, never breaking the eye contact we were sharing. After a few minutes, she loses interest, yawns, and falls back asleep.

"Long day, huh?" hell, I can't blame her, she's the one that grew from one cell to this in a few hours, all I did was go through a few hours of pain.

But really, where do I go from here? So she's here, that was the hard part… I think. Am I supposed to do something special? Should she be baptized? The Christian church has come to a screeching halt since the angels started appearing, and now only the priests and extremely dedicated people go… well, she IS a girl, I don't have to worry about the priests. Great… now I have to be a church-going person… I never did like those places; they're way too unnatural. No one acts like they would in a real life, and more than half the time they use the time to organize their checkbook. What annoyed me is that people, for the most part, only went to church out of habit, not out of belief. Before all this, I was raised Catholic, but then when I moved in with Kaji at twelve, that came to a sudden halt. I remember my first weekend with him, I actually asked to go to church. He took me, but that was the last time we went; afterwards, he asked me why I wanted to go. When I couldn't answer, Kaji just told me to believe what I wanted to… from that point on, I didn't really believe in God, but I knew there was something out there watching. Obviously my feelings are different at this point – I've got proof in my arms right now.

If I had to choose, I don't really want her going to church, but it's not like I really have a choice at this point… but that just raises another question. Which branch of Christianity if right? Jesus, I don't know if there's a hell or not, but if I get her to believe in the Protestant view and she should be Roman Catholic, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up there! Well, come to think of it, why not just let her grow up? I mean, if she's the child of God, you think she would have a vision or something… yeah, I'm just going to leave it alone. Let's just hope she doesn't have any questions…

"So the rumors are true, huh?" looking up, I meet eyes with my old schoolgirl crush standing in the doorway with one of those damned cigarettes in his mouth.

"You know you're not allowed to smoke here, let alone around a newborn. Put it out," with a chuckle, he tosses it on the ground and steps on it as he walks towards me, "And yeah… have you heard the whole story?"

"I haven't the slightest clue. At first I heard Shinji was the father," mother of fuck! I wouldn't be surprised if the Third spread that himself! "But then I caught wind of you being in labor after only a day. Of course, I didn't believe it, but hey, here you are," he takes a seat on the arm chair opposite to me.

"As if I would sleep with a guy at my age," I'm no slut like Ayanami, "You seem to know the most out of anyone. What's going on Kaji?"

"Well, I'm sure you know this by now, but that little girl is the next Messiah. You've always heard about the second coming of Jesus, but that's just a load of bull from the Christian church. The truth is that there was an entire section of the Dead Sea Scrolls that they ignored and cut out. Thankfully, a wise priest copied down what it said before it was destroyed. All of this is just prophecy, but you having her is by far not the last thing foretold. All it said was that she will be known as the Fiery Messiah, but not in a negative way, that name just comes from her attitude and… well, I'm sure you can guess that one. She'll start preaching at the age of five after having her first vision… and that's where it ends. Here, let me check something," he stands up and walks over to me, placing a hand on her cheek. She almost instantly opens her eyes and look up at the man hovering over her, "Yeah," he once again stands up straight, "Another thing the bible doesn't tell you is that all Messiahs have that mark. You see, Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, and so on all had that exact same mark, in the exact same place. You see, God and Satan are both the same being; the only thing that the church got right is that Satan actually is evil. The Christian god is very similar to Brahman – the Hindu god. He's actually just countless gods living as one, and He's more or less evil and the purest at the same time… it's hard to explain. In short, she has that mark because she is partly the daughter of Satan, but that doesn't mean she'll go postal on the first person to give her attitude. It doesn't really mean anything, it's just there to show that she is who we say she is."

"Kaji, how do you know all this?" Adalia continues to stare at him.

"I'm a spy, remember? It's my job to know all of it," he simply smirks down at me… what a load of shit.

"Fine then, don't tell me, I'll find out eventually."

"I promise that you will."

A/N – And there is Adalia! By the way, please don't take anything Is aid to heart; not a single word of this is actually true… I say that because I'm sure that there's some guy out there actually believing this. So, I tried to depict the whole birthing process as well as I could without getting too gory or disgusting… those of you who have witnessed it know what I'm talking about. Well, next chapter isn't really going to be the most exciting, but it has to be written to build up later events. Check out the next chapter; Rekindling. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	19. Musical Premonition

Chapter 19: Musical Premonition

A/N – Sorry for the change of chapter title, I had a better idea for this chapter.

Hospital Bathroom – 6:00 AM – Next Day

For the first time in quite awhile, I was able to have some time to myself and just relax in the shower. Kaji was watching over Adalia back in my room, mainly because he seems to be the only one that understands just how important she is to both me and the world. I finished washing quite awhile ago, but I had become accustomed the almost boiling hot water, and I plan to stay in here for quite awhile.

Kaji was moving into the NERV base, which is all the better, because he has more information than anyone else here, which will obviously help Adalia in the future. According to him, I shouldn't even present the idea of God or religion to her, and that's a huge burden off my shoulders. I highly doubt that I'll see or talk to God again; what would be the point? If he wants to speak to someone, Adalia's here… and if he really is all powerful, even an infant can understand him.

"Asuka? You okay in there? It's been awhile," of course, Kaji just had to destroy my personal heaven.

"I'm fine, sorry," it turn off the shower and painfully walk into the colder atmosphere. After putting on a red spaghetti-strap tank top with jeans, I make my way back into the room to see Adalia asleep with Kaji reading the newspaper next to her, "Thanks for watching her."

"No problem. Oh, Shinji stopped by, he wanted to talk to you about something… I assume it's about Adalia. Go talk to him, I'll just stay here," as if I'm going to talk to that love struck asshole!

"No, I'm fine, if he really wants to talk he can-"

"Asuka, just go," his voice was still mellow and cool, but there was a certain sternness of it that gave me little choice. I roll my eyes and head towards Third's room, where I was sure that there was going to be some sort of conflict… as if I cared, he doesn't have crap on me. Without a second of hesitation, I knock on his door and wait for a response. Of course, the cowardly little boy answered the door in his typical white shirt and jeans.

"What is it Third?" I cross my arms and shift my weight onto my right foot.

"Oh, Asuka… I haven't seen you in awhile… are you okay?" did he not see the baby in the freaking room? Dumbass…

"I'm fine, as if it concerns you. Now if that's all, I have more important places to be," I can't believe he called me all the way down here just to chat! If he thinks that I'll be going back to him, he really is crazy.

"Look, I'm sorry about the other night, I shouldn't have-"

"No you shouldn't have! You had no right to lead me on like that! Who the hell do you think you are to play people like that? Ayanami may have put up with your crap, but I have more dignity than that! But you know what? I actually should be thanking you; you only proved to me that I really can't trust anyone. So thank you Third, I appreciate you opening my eyes," of course, I had an extremely sarcastic voice on.

"You're not the only one with issues Asuka!" he did NOT just raise his voice to me! I get closer to him and stare him down.

"You're right, I'm not, but I couldn't give a rats ass about anyone else's problems. See, unlike you, I actually deal with my issues and don't drag people into them," he simply stares at me blankly, "I don't have time for this crap," without another word, I storm back to my room, trying to calm down before I actually get there. Unfortunately, when I was almost half way there I was intercepted by Akagi, who was, as always, holding that clipboard.

"Oh, Asuka, I was looking for you. Listen, I know it's really soon, and please don't yell at me, but we're going to need you to pilot your Eva one last time, just to reset it's linkage. After this whole incident. We decided that it's a very bad idea to completely get rid of NERV, so we need all of our pilots back. Units 00 and 01 are being rebuilt, and yours just needs some tuning up. Now look, I know that you don't want to do it because of Adalia, but the Commander said that he won't allow NERV to support her if you don't."

"Actually Ritsuko, I WANT to pilot. From what I've seen, I doubt that the end of the world is coming, but the least I can do for Adalia is train and try to be ready if an attack ever does come, you know?" that and it's not like I'm going to let some other person pilot my Eva, "When's the test gonna be?"

"Wow… didn't expect that… well, if you want to get it out of the way, we can do it right now," I'm sure Kaji wouldn't mind watching over Adalia for a little while…

"Yeah, why not. Just let me go get changed, I'll meet you in the hangar," suddenly feeling slightly perky, I make my way back to my room where the all too familiar plug suit was hanging. When I was about twenty feet from my room, I begin to hear the crying of a little baby girl… yeah, that's great… as if I know how to deal with an infant throwing a fit. The first thing I see when I enter the room was a very flustered looking Kaji holding Adalia, red in the face from her tears.

"Thank God!" he rushed over to me and hands over my child, "You're her mother, deal with it!" he's the adult here! I've never even been around a baby before, let alone taken care of one!

"And how do you propose I do that?" he simply raises an eyebrow at me, "What?" I hate it when people look at me like that!

"Asuka, you're her mother," he put a slight emphasis on the last word, "What do you think she wants?" is imply shrug. He closes his eyes and rubs his temples with obvious annoyance, "You have to feed her. Jesus Asuka, haven't you ever been through a sex-ed course?" actually, the school district cut that out after some parent… wait, what?!

"Excuse me?! What are you saying?!" I really should have seen this coming…

"I think you know exactly what I'm saying. I'll just wait outside and give you some privacy," after muttering something about 'kids these days', he leaves the room, closing the door behind him. With a strong blush on my face, I stare down at a still crying Adalia.

"You've got to be kidding me…" how am I even supposed to do this?! Sure, I've seen it on TV before, but this is different! Am I even ABLE to do this? I'm only sixteen damnit! "Like I have much of a choice…" I take a seat in the large armchair I was in before leaving the room and hesitate for awhile, "What's there to be embarrassed about? It's only a baby…" even though I tried calming myself down, it was doing no good.

"I still hear crying!" with an almost mocking tone, Kaji calls in through the door.

"Oh shut up!" he doesn't understand how hard this is! "Oh screw it…" with a single leap of faith, I lift up my shirt, pull aside the underlying cloth and present myself to the still crying infant. I could feel my face on fire the entire time I did this… I didn't have a choice though! It's either this or she goes hungry! "What's s-supposed to happen here…?" with the excess cloth resting on the top of my chest, I try and coax Adalia to do what nature SHOULD have already taught her. After almost three minutes, I was ready to give up… that is until she began to calm down quite quickly. She opened up her crystal blue eyes and stared at was in front of her. Without any encouragement on my part, she latched on and finally did what I was almost begging her to, "About damn time…"

"There we-"

"Don't you dare come in!" with my face still on fire, I yell at Kaji through the closed door.

"Fine, fine. Jeez Asuka, you act as if I haven't seen you before. May I remind you of a certain day two years back?" I've been trying to forget that… "Listen, if you need me, I'll be in the cafeteria. I'm kinda hungry myself…" did he have to say that?!

How am I even supposed to know if this is working? Am I able to produce milk? I mean, on top of my age, I've only been pregnant for a couple days… maybe it's just not happening… of course, judging by the fact that she's still there kind of serves as a symbol that it is… either way, this just sucks. Not only is it embarrassing all to hell, but it kind of hurts to have her here. About the only good news in my mind right now is the thought that she can only be on here for about ten minutes… or at least that's what I've heard on TV. Despite the complete negativity of this, I have to admit, I got used to it fairly quickly. For one, I'm sure that she was learning to trust me through this, and two… well, I'm not even sure about that one. It's almost as if I actually want to do it; most likely instinct. By the time that I pulled her away, she was completely calm. I set her back in the crib and once again dress myself, cringing slightly at the new pain.

"To think I have to do that at least twice a day…" just the thought of her teething almost makes me cry. After a few more minutes, I was fully dressed in my plug suit and on the phone speaking with Kaji, "Listen, I need you to take care of Adalia for a little while. Akagi wants me to do some tests with Unit-02," of course, he tried to convince me not to pilot, but there was really no changing my mind. Reluctantly, he agrees to watch over Adalia. Eventually, the scruffy pretty boy walks in the room still holding the drink he apparently got from the cafeteria, "Look, I know how you feel about me piloting, but I have to do it for her. And plus, what else is there to do in this damn catacomb?"

"Asuka, you just don't understand what's going on… listen, I can't force you to do something, but promise me that if anything happens, you'll hide. Okay?" slightly confused, I just stand still, "Asuka," he takes hold of my shoulders, "We don't want you getting caught up in all of this. If something happens, I want you to call me – I don't care what time it is, just please call me," what's going on with him? He's never sounded like this before.

"O… Okay…" without another word, he walks past me and hovers of Adalia's crib, "Thanks…" my last word to him was barely above a whisper, and I doubt that he knew I even spoke up, but it was more than enough for me. Along the way, I attempted to block everything he just said from my mind, though I eventually found that to be close to impossible. He was speaking as if he knew something was going to happen… but why would it? Isn't this all over now? Why would any of the supposed 'gods' come down to punish us when they've just sent the new messiah? As if I'm one to be asking questions… I haven't understood this from the start, and I'll be damned if I start now.

"Yo, Asuka, lookin' good!" as I pass one of the hospital rooms, I hear Toji's voice call out from inside. Of course, I stop in the doorway to speak with him, completely forgetting what he just said and that I'm wearing a skin-tight plug suit, "So, I'm guessin that everything's okay with you and the kid?"

"Yeah, she's fine. I'm just heading down right now to do some tests with Unit-02, you know. Feeling any better?" patting his casted leg, he lets out a small chuckle.

"As good as a guy with two broken legs can feel. But hey, go finish up with whatever the trained monkeys are havin ya do, we can talk later," with a simple smirk, I walk out of the room with intentions of making it all the way to the hangar without another interruption. Thankfully, my goal was achieved, and I was finally met with my old entry plug, sitting at an angle just above Unit-02… waiting for me.

"Oh, Asuka, hi," Akagi's voice comes over the large speaker system, "Go ahead and step inside the plug, we can begin whenever you're ready."

---

Two Hours Later – Same Place

By this point, I'm more than slightly annoyed. She promised me that this wouldn't take more than an hour, and yet here we are, more than double over time from what she proposed. For some reason, Unit-02 didn't have much of a signal at all, so there wasn't even a slim possibility that I could sync up with it. Of course, the one and only reason that I wanted to get out of this thing was so that I could go back to Adalia, who I'm sure was still fast asleep after her meal. Every now and again Akagi would chime in with that typical woman tone inquiring about the baby, and I tend to give the simplest answer possible. I realize that she's just trying to be nice, but honestly, I don't want any fake emotions from anyone right now. Adalia and Kaji are the only people I can really trust at this point… and even Kaji I wonder about sometimes.

On occasion, I recall what a foolish little girl I was for obsessing over a grown man twice my age, but hey, who doesn't have those silly little crushes? Even so, that's not why I remember them… I only remember them because he was the last person I had a strong emotional bond to outside of Rei, and now even she's back to her old self. I know for a fact, as childish as this may sound, that I'm not going to give my heart to someone again… at least not like that. People would look at that and think that I'm just heartbroken over a relationship that didn't go well with Shinji, but while I was hurt, it didn't last for more than a few hours. I just don't care anymore; what's the point of loving someone when you know that it will eventually come to an end? Adalia is the only person that I know won't leave me, and she's going to be the only person in my life – until the day I die – that I want to stay with me.

Suddenly, I feel the fluid around me warm up to slightly above body temperature, which, out of experience, tells me something went right with the synchronization process. The controls loosen in my hands and I hear a distant motor running outside of the entry plug. Akagi's face comes into view with a huge smile, "There we go! I don't know what just happened, but you're now up to a ninety-five percent sync ratio! Okay, I think that's more than enough for today, whatever was going on seems to be gone now. I'm ejecting your plug now, go ahead and get changed in the locker room. I've had some new clothes sent down there for you."

"Ahem…" I hear another woman in the background clear her throat.

"I mean… Misato picked them out… apparently I have no style," being a forty year old doctor, who would expect her to? With a smile, I climb out of the small pool and ring out my hair onto the floor. Just when I was starting to get the condition of my hair back up, they throw me right back into that damned LCL… I stand around for a few seconds, expecting to see Misato or Akagi emerge from behind some corner, but that never came. Going simply by memory of the one time I was in the locker room, I somehow manage to find my way into the small room. There was only about five grey lockers, and three of them were wide open and completely empty outside of the dead moth or two. Guessing that my locker would be numbered 'two', I open it up to find a blood red tight shirt with a v-cut collar under a jet black Kenneth Cole leather jacket. Hanging right next to the set was a pair of intentionally faded jeans, and sitting lonely at the bottom were a pair of half-inch high heels matching the color of the shirt.

"You like?" surprised, I turn to see Misato standing in the doorway with her typical smirk on, "I figured you haven't had anything new in awhile, and I think you at least deserve this for all you've done."

"Wow…" that's all I could really think of to say at that moment. When was the last time someone bought me a gift just because? Hell, when was the last time someone bought me a gift period? "Thanks…""What's this?" she walks over and pokes at my forehead, "The great Asuka speechless? I must have done great then!"

"Yeah, don't push it Misato… even God's wrath can't match that of a mother's…" with a small laugh, she begins to walk away.

"Listen, Kaji and I are going out tonight, so if you need anything, you know my cell phone number. I doubt anything's going to happen, but you never know what you'll run into with Adalia – the other women in this place have never even been around an infant before, let alone know how to take care of one," without giving me a chance to reply, she leaves the locker room, closing the door and sending a loud echo after her.

I can't believe she spent this much money on me… a foreign brand of clothes must have set her back quite a bit. Trying to hold back my small smile the entire time, I slowly get dressed into the surprisingly comfortable outfit. I have to admit, Misato's not half bad when it comes to this stuff! I always figured her to be the cheap type; only buying expensive clothes for work and spending her spare money on either alcohol or rip-off designer clothes from Target. Oddly enough, when I was finished getting changed into what was quickly turning into my favorite outfit, I looked down at my expensively dressed body with a small, but very noticeable smirk on my face.

"Who says money can't buy happiness?" I challenge any woman – and a few men for that matter – to frown in this situation.

The rest of the day, which seemed rather odd for some reason, was spent either in my room tending to Adalia and watching corny sitcoms on TV or reading online books about parenting on the dial-up computer offered to me in the room. Regardless of what exactly I was doing, the constant fact remained that I was alone, and I wouldn't do anything to change that. It may be because of my natural recluse state of being, or it could simply be from me wanting to be alone… as if it mattered why. By eight at night, I was about ready to shoot myself from the boredom; of course, Adalia was asleep, and TV stopped entertaining me quite awhile ago. I was simply lying on my back in some night clothes staring up at the ceiling, slightly hoping someone would walk in… slightly.

"Asuka?" I jump out of my skin at the sudden loud noise coming from an omnipresent source, "It's Misato. We need to speak with you for a few minutes. Just leave Adalia, we have cameras set up in your room to monitor her," trying to ignore the fact that there were cameras in the room that I shower and dress in, I stand up – still in my loose fitting pants and shirt – and walk out of the room without a word.

"I swear, if this is about Eva, I'm going to scream…" by the time I finally got down to the hangar where we always seem to meet, I was kicking myself for not wearing socks or at least a pair of slippers. When I reach the darkened control room, I find only three people – a worker, Misato, and Akagi – staring at some sort of chart on the same computer, "What is it now?" I had an obvious tone of annoyance in my voice, but that was soon dashed as I saw the look on Misato's face, "What's wrong?" Akagi stood up straight and adjusted her glasses with one finger, "Ritsuko?"

"You're going to have to change into your plug suit, Asuka. We've got a problem."

Not much can be said about exactly what went through my head between the time she said that and me actually crawling into the entry plug. At first, I could literally feel my heart at my feet it sank so low, but as time went on I began to realize what was happening and what could happen in the future. Kaji said that all of the prophesies had been met, and it was up to us to begin writing our own… of course, I didn't grasp exactly what he meant at the time, but just the actions needed to start Unit-02 up kicked start my brain into full reality. I didn't speak after the word 'problem', and I didn't exactly plan on it either. I fully understood what was about to occur, but how it will end… that's up in the air, of course. By the time NERV even had a clue what was headed towards us, even I was able to see it on the horizon. It was big, to say the least… at least the size of three angels.

"Asuka," Akagi's face pops up on a monitor to my right side, "We have word on what you'll be facing. Judging by-"

"If I don't make it through this," I couldn't care less what they found out, "I want Kaji to take care of Adalia, understand?" my eyes were fixed on the progressing figure as silence struck my entry plug, "Do you understand?" I spoke slightly slower to make my point.

"Yes, but," I press a small button on the controls to cut off communication.

"You son of a bitch…" tightening my handle on the controls, I feel a tear form in my eye and instantly dilute in the yellow fluid, "I had your child, I promised that I would protect her, and you try to kill me?" picking up one of the assault rifles in the gun rack next to me, I begin to walk away from the huge building, "Fuck…" kneeling down, I await the monster approaching me, "You."

A/N – It's three in the morning on a school night, so I'll just leave you with this… check out the next chapter, Thundering Mountain. Until then, keep on keepin' on!


	20. Thundering Mountain

Chapter 20 – Thundering Mountain

Same Place

It had been almost twenty minutes since my last movement after seeing that beast, and by now, I've fully convinced myself that I will kill whatever the hell it was. Before all this, sure, I didn't want to die, but in reality, it's not like I had much to live for anyway. Now that I have Adalia, however, I refuse to leave her like my mother did to me. I know it wasn't her fault, but I know damn well what it's like to grow up without parents, and I'm not about to let my own daughter go through that.

"If it wasn't for this damned power cable you'd be dead already…" I release the controls and run my hands through the thin strands of red floating all around me… which distracted me just enough to miss what was about to happen. I saw a faint hint of movement out of my left eye, but as most things, I choose to disregard it. I rest my hands back on the controls just in time for an explosion the size of a small warhead directly where the angel was standing. After jumping out of my skin and looking at the mushroom cloud of fire for a few moments, I once again open up the communication link to see a fuming Misato on the other line.

"If you ever do that again I'll-"

"What the hell was that?!" I love how she threatens me first, completely disregarding what just happened.

"We don't know," Akagi pushes the younger woman away, "It came out of nowhere. Listen, we have to get you back inside, we don't know if something else is attacking," as if I need encouragement. I drop the rifle, crushing a few cars by doing so, and stand on the giant elevator that originally lifted me up. After changing back into my night clothes and rushing through the whole 'don't leave your room' speech, I hurry back to where my baby was hopefully still sleeping. Of course, she was, and I let out a sigh of relief as I fall back onto the bed.

"The hell just happened?" things like that don't just up an explode randomly! Something else was out there with me, but honestly, I'd rather not know what… ah hell, who am I kidding? Knowing my life, whatever it was will come knocking on my door.

"Asuka!" or just barge in. An extremely flustered Shinji was in front of the door as I propped myself up on both elbows, "What happened? Why were you piloting? What was that explosion?"

"Slow it down there Sherlock. You know just about as much as I do… now can I help you? I was looking forward to going to sleep," of course, he made his way to the edge of my bed.



"Why do you always act like that? I came in here worried about you and you treat me like that?" with a chuckle, I stand up.

"Yeah, we're done here," pushing from behind, I lead him out of the room before he makes a huge deal out of the baby he apparently missed while walking in here. Without a word, he huffs back to his room, not even making an attempt to hide his anger. I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to look down the opposite hall, but instead of simply closing my door, I turn to see a boy slightly older than me – or so it seemed – dressed in the typical skater outfit. Tight jeans, white shirt with sleeves so short it's damn near a tank top, extremely curly hair that hung down from his scalp like un-kept vines, and, of course, a skateboard in his hand with a winged sandal for the graphic.

"Hey, you Asuka?" despite his outward appearance, I have to say, all of this put together was… hell, this guy was better looking than Kaji.

"Who wants to know?" without a single facial expression, he reaches in his back pocket and pulls out an envelope, and quickly hands it to me.

"Don't worry about it. See ya, I gotta head back home," sending a semi-loud crack through the halls, he throws down the skateboard onto the tile and rolls away.

"Well aren't you obnoxious…" staring at the envelope on my and, I begin to wonder if it was really the best idea to even open this. Thoughts of the whole anthrax epidemic in 2009 ran through my mind, and the last thing I need is to fall into the same damned trap other people did. Of course, who would deliver that in person? Hell, how did he even get in here?! I guess NERV security isn't what it used to be…

After lying on my bed, staring at the rectangular piece of paper for almost an hour, I finally decide to open it up. A slight sigh escaped my lungs when nothing but a normal sheet of printer paper fell out onto the sheets, and writing on the opposite side was obvious after seeing the ink that bled through. To my slight disappointment, the only thing on the other side was the time eight AM and the words 'be in your room' scratched messily onto the paper. Now, anyone with two brain cells could see that this is either a meeting with a person who is shy, or, more likely, some creep trying to get a hold of one of the pilots. Ever since the four of us began piloting, radical religious groups have made countless attempts at taking our lives; I remember one instance when a Muslim actually threw a stick of dynamite at me before lighting the damn thing. Of course, he was quickly tackled to the ground by at least twenty men in black suits that seemed to crawl out of the woodwork.

"Whatever…" the worst that could happen is my room being rushed with guards the second something even slightly wrong occurs, so why not? Hell, by the looks of things, we're all not going to last long anyway.

--



7:30 AM – Asuka's Room

Last night, I hardly got four hours of sleep. On top of what happened the day before and the letter, my mind was far from being able to rest. I've been up since about five, which gave me more than enough time to feed Adalia – which, by the way, is getting less embarrassing and painful each time – shower, an get dressed in the outfit provided to me by Misato… which only occupied me until seven. Adalia went to sleep almost immediately after I fed her, so there's nothing to keep me busy there, and there was nothing on TV this early in the morning outside of the corny morning cartoons children live by. Almost as if to annoy me on purpose, there was a knocking at my door the exact time that I finally sat back down. With a small grunt, I stand back up and open the door to see yet another extremely attractive boy about my age.

He obviously wasn't Japanese, or Asian for that matter… maybe European? He was roughly five foot, ten inches… regardless, he was a very odd looking person. He was dressed head to toe in white outside of the single thin gold chain dangling from his neck. On top of his white clothes, he had snow white – not grey – hair, each strand precisely cut to match the one next to it. It was about three inches long, and it looked as if he put some styling product in it and simply stood in a wind tunnel to achieve this type of style. His eyes were a brilliant blue, much more than Adalia's, and his strong facial features displayed his obvious maturity.

"So this is the 'Asuka' I've heard so much about, hm?" his voice was almost euphoric in tone… I couldn't say exactly what was different about it, but there was definitely something there. He spoke with a common sense of wisdom that he seemed oblivious to, the knd you normally only hear from older men.

"Yeah…" dumbfounded, I simply stare up at the older person standing in front of me, completely losing track of what I was doing.

"Are you going to invite me in?" jumping back to reality, I open the door and step to the side as he walks in without a single change of expression, "The others will be here soon. Only seven of us could make it today, but you'll be meeting the other four soon enough. I hope you realize the risk we took by coming here, but I doubt that it would be possible to bring you away from your child. Am I correct?" standing in front of her crib, he stares down at the sleeping redhead.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," he looks back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"He didn't tell you?"

"If you're talking about that skater guy, then no, all he did was hand me the letter telling me to be here. Tell me what?" he places his index finger and thumb on the upper, thick portion of his nose and closes his eyes in annoyance.



"I hate that kid so much… just wait for the others to get here, it'll become obvious with time," almost like clockwork, yet another knocking rings through my room.

After opening the door for the second time, I once again see the unnamed skater in his typical attire standing next to two other people. The only other male was, again, about my age and dressed in the stereotypical surfer's clothing, despite the fact that there wasn't so much as a lake anywhere nearby. He had blond wavy hair that reached his shoulders, which were only slightly covered by a navy tank top. He was in either over styled shorts or elegant swim trunks and nothing more than a pair of thongs covering his feet. Like the guy in white, he obviously wasn't Asian, and had crystal blue eyes.

The first female that I encountered was, to say the least, almost a super model. While she obviously wasn't an adult, she surely held herself as one. She was dressed in a conservative, non-revealing cyan dress, which only complimented her blue eyes. Her wavy blonde hair almost reached her mid-back, giving her an extremely elegant look for a girl her age.

"So this is who we've been looking for?" the surfer raises an eyebrow at me as his eyes trace up and down my body, "Not exactly a looker, is she?" I have to admit that was the first time I've heard that in my entire life, and to make sure it was the last, I give him a harsh slap across the face.

"Learn some damn manners, especially in someone else's home!" the women laughs, showcasing her beautiful voice.

"Admit it, you deserved that," walking past me, the woman and the skater make their way towards the man in white, leaving the surfer standing alone, ending to his now red face, "Let's see here…" turning towards the man in white, she places her hands on her hips, "You here, alone, with a wonderful young lady like this, without your wife around… why am I slightly suspicious?"

"As if I would have relations with my own blood," what the hell is that supposed to mean? "Regardless, she is an untouchable… for now. You know this just as well as I do," untouchable? Is that a bad thing?

"That and he knew I was getting close," a woman, once again about my age, walks in with her eyes closed and nose in the air. She was dressed in a solid white dress, with straight white hair much like the other man that reached her upper back, "We're not in charge anymore, I don't have to follow the 'perfect wife' persona," smacking the back of his head, she takes a seat on my bed and crosses her legs, "Might as well leave that door open girly, we have three more people coming," pulling a single cigarette and match out of her cleavage, she lights up the things I've come to hate thanks to Kaji, "Hope you don't mind if I smoke."

"Actually, I do, there's a baby in the room," with obvious annoyance in my voice, I snatch the stick from her and step on it, "Now do you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?!"



"You really don't want to know, trust me," yet another guy about my age made his way into my room, and he was almost the exact opposite of the first man. His hair was jet black, straight as a pencil, and reached his mid-neck, which also covered about half his face. He was dressed in some heavy metal t-shirt and black jeans, along with the almost painfully tacky Vans shoes. He had a thin piercing on the left side of his lip, along with some miscellaneous rings that decorated his fingers. A single ear-bud was blasting low-pitched guitar music that echoed through the room, despite the fact that it was in his ear. Unlike the rest of the people I've 'met' so far, his eyes weren't blue… well, the one that I could see was so dark brown that it was black… hell, I'm just assuming that it's brown. It actually looked like one huge pupil.

"You're always such a downer, man," the surfer slapped his back with a chuckle, and to say the least, the man in black didn't take it well. Grabbing hold of his wrist, he twists the surfer's arm in the complete opposite direction.

"I don't like to be touched."

"What can ya say about a guy that lives with dead people, huh?" simply giving up at this point, I fall back onto the chair as yet another man about my age walks in dressed completely in camouflage and sporting a buzzed cut with brown hair. He, too, had crystal blue eyes. Almost directly after him walked in a man carrying what looked like a golden clarinet dressed in a white button-up t-shirt and black pants. He had a very strong physique, and his long curly blonde hair made him one of the most attractive men in the room… which was saying a lot.

"No, he just listens to the wrong music," the musician's voice was that of an experienced vocalist, yet he was far from singing, "Well, I believe we're all here, correct? Has the beauty been informed yet?"

"No, we were just getting to that," with a harsh tone, the man in black walks over to me and holds out his hand, offering to help me up. Completely disregarding his action, I stand up on my own, "Okay then, works for me. Who's gonna break the news to her? Should it be you, brother?" he looks at the man in white, who was still holding his flawless disposition.

"Must I always do the dirty work?" walking towards me, the man in white holds out his hand as if to shake mine, "Take my hand."

"Why should I do that? You all come barging in MY room, don't give a single explanation as to why, and expect me to be okay with it? Give me some damn answers already!" snarling, the man in white leans down and grabs my hand, which instantly becomes warm… that familiar sensation.

"Yeah, Apollo was right, she's the one," the musician chuckles slightly at the comment, "I'd like to introduce myself. You most likely know me as Zeus, and this is my wife, Hera," he motions towards the smoker on my bed. I know it was rude, but I couldn't help but to burst out laughing.



"Holy crap, you actually had me going there for a second! Come on now, don't hide behind some crappy names, who are you really?" he simply stands still, staring deep into my eyes and still holding onto my hand.

"I knew it would come to this… Poseidon?" the surfer tugs down at his tank top and smirks as he holds up hand straight out in front of him with his palm turns skyward, as if trying to catch something. A few seconds pass, and just as I was losing interest, a small drop of liquid formed in his hand, floating in mid-air. This small drop soon became the size of almost a full gallon.

"Oh enough of that," the man in black slaps the water, sending it falling to the floor, "I think she gets the point. I'm Hades, the lovely young punk with the skateboard is Hermes, the conceded guy with the sax is Apollo, the man stuck in World War II is Ares, and the stingy girl is Hestia. If you've taken so much as a literature course you should know those names. Can we get on with this already?"

"Hey, just because I won't put out doesn't make me stingy!"

"Enough!" the man in white – apparently Zeus – roar though the room, making a few things shake, "This is NOT what we discussed!"

"You honestly expect me to believe that you're all Greek gods after a few explanations and a cheap water trick?" fire literally blazed in Hades' eyes and he stormed towards me, taking hold of my shoulders firmly, "Hey, wha…" before I could say anything, our eyes met, and a cold shiver made its way up my spine as my entire body was covered in goose bumps. The giant pupil that was his eye, through close inspection, had transparent images of screaming faces and gore reflecting back at the world.

"After all the crap you've gone through, how would this be any different? You had a fucking child without so much as knowing another man's touch!" my entire body was shaking, and I could barely stay focused. Pushing forward slightly, he let go of me, "You better wise up, or you just might end up like us," he walked away and leaned against the far wall, closing his hideous eyes.

"He's just upset because Pan took his job," Apollo put his arm around my shoulders and smiled at me, "Listen, he may have been harsh about all this, but it's true. We came to see you because you're in danger… but I'm getting ahead of myself. A story must be told," he sat me back down on the armchair and took his place next to me on the bed, "All of those stories you've read about Greek 'mythology' couldn't be further from myths. All of it is true, outside of the occasional misprints by writers. We were perfectly in charge for countless years, that is, until Pope Urban II came to power. I'm sure you know of the crusades, correct? Yeah, the history books say that it was to 'reclaim the holy land' or some mockery of the truth like that. Pope Urban II is actually your God; he was launching a crusade against us, trying to take power away from us. Long story short, he beat ol' Zeus here in a game of wits."



"He lured Zeus away from his throne with a damn seventeen year old!" Hera spoke up, causing most of the people in the room to laugh.

"Yes, well, that's aside from the point. After Urban became the single God, he turned us all mortal, but we were cursed with reincarnation for the rest of eternity. As time went on, however, we eventually regained small amounts of power. What you just saw out of Hades and Poseidon is about all they can do… as of now. The 'angels', as you so quaintly call them, are our brethren who have reached godlike states. Urban could not kill them without the rest rebelling, so he hired them as his personal servants… but they were weak. We are the twelve Olympians; once we regain our power, we can take back what was rightfully ours to begin with," I put my finger on his lips and raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, whatever, I really couldn't care less at this point, what I want to know is why you came to ME? Shouldn't you be trying to kill me or something? I mean, I DID have God's child, you know?" the man I have been told is called Ares chuckles.

"You really don't remember anything, do you? Move over Music Man, it's my turn," he walks in front of me and stares down, "As he just got done saying, we've all been reincarnated countless times. We all recall our past lives, but for some reason, you forgot exactly who you are. Let's get what you believe out of the way; you're mother didn't kill herself, she was killed after she found out the truth. Your father was indeed a sperm donor, but as fate would have it, Zeus here is your father… ironic, no?" I simply give him a puzzled look, "Oh wow… okay, back when we were all gods, he was your father, got it? Anyway, long story short, the god – or should I say 'goddess' – of love, lust, and beauty has finally been found… ever heard of Aphrodite?" a few seconds of complete silence fill the room before it was once again flooded with my laughter, "Not… quite the reaction I was expecting…"

"Oh come on already! This is just getting stupid! You honestly expect me to believe that you're all gods, and that I'M the god of love?! Could you possibly get more ironic?! Really now, who put you all up to this?"

"I freaking told you this would happen man!" Poseidon throws his arms in the air in annoyance, "As if we can come up to some kid and tell her she's an ex-immortal! Come on Zeus, what did you expect was going to happen?"

"She will realize it in time, we just have to be patient."

"I'm right here ya know…" waving my hand in the air, I feel as if I'm being ignored.

"But you know we don't have that kind of time," Ares speaks up in his harsh tone, "If we don't get started on-"

"Quiet! You know she can't know yet!" Hera throws her lighter at him, hitting him square in the forehead.

"Still right here."



"Trust me, as soon as she is in her element, Aphrodite will come to her senses," Zeus begins to leave the room as he spoke, "She is just a child after all, she'll fall in love soon enough."

A/N – Well, you all can thank XRaiderV1 for messaging me about this story, because he indirectly convinced me to start up again. Just to get back into the swing of things, the next chapter will have close to zero plot advancement… I need to get my groove back… well, check it out in a week or so with the next chapter, Piano Man; until then, keep on keepin' on!


	21. Piano Man

Chapter 21: Piano Man

A/N – This is a serious warning; if you suffer from chronic depression, do NOT read this chapter. It contains triggering elements. On another note, Shinji's POV again… just for this chapter though.

Shinji's Room

"Come on already man! I'm starvin' here!" Toji calls out through the bathroom door as I finish getting ready. I open the door just as he begins to leave.

"Whoa, hold on!" throwing on my shoes, I follow him out into the hall just to run into Rei… quite literally, "Oh, hi Rei…" it was still extremely awkward between us. It was painfully obvious that I still loved her, but it was also just as obvious that she didn't feel the same way… not anymore at least.

"Ikari," with her old monotone voice, she sends her version of a greeting my way. As she begins to walk off, I grab her wrist.

"Why are you acting this way? What happened to you?" I hate what she's become with a passion.

"Give me your hand," lacing her fingers with mine, she stares into my eyes with absolutely zero emotion, "But realize I just want to say goodbye. I got nothing against you, and I miss you… but this is no time for emotions," leaning forward, she whispers in my ear, "Come to my room tonight, but don't get caught," what just happened here?

"That's it, I'm not waiting around anymore! Toji storms off just as Rei was leaving, "God damn mother fuckers always waiting my time!" now is language like that really necessary?

"Come on Toji, you know what happened between us, I can't just leave her," he whips around and punches me in the shoulder.

"Like hell you can't! Listen Shinji, I'm your friend, but you have to trust me when I say that you're a damned pansy! What you NEED to do is forget her and grab another girl. We're in a new place dude, the girls here don't know how much of a wuss you are. Look, I saw a few chicks walking around here, I'm sure that we can scout out one for you at the cafeteria," continuing to walk, he puts his arms around my shoulders, "This is how it works, pay attention. Rei's young, and if you actually paid attention in school, you would have seen that almost all girls went through 'that phase'. If you want her back, hook up with another girl! She'll be so jealous that she'll be begging to have you back!" as if I'm going to take relationship advice from someone who was on an on-off dating scene.

"Whatever," I duck under his arm and walk on the other side of the hall, "Speaking of girls, what happened to Hikari? How did she handle you leaving?"

"Oh, you didn't hear? She's coming over here. Her dad apparently got a job with NERV… I think… like it matters, the point is that she's coming back."

"That's great! I'm happy for you Toji, really."

"Yeah, I'm excited about it," we just passed through the main doors to the cafeteria to see it completely packed with people, "Aw hell! See?! I told you we should have gone earlier!" smacking me on the back of the head, we continue towards the long line, "Anyway, 'bout Hikari. See, the thing with her is that she's an uptown girl. You know what I mean; real sheltered, daddy's girl, typical. She's never been with a backstreet guy, and her ma never told her why she shouldn't be. I'll never be able to buy her pearls or somethin' like that, but you know what? Even though we break up more than we should, she always comes back."

"You're insane, seriously. What does being an 'uptown girl' have anything to do with it?"

"Hey, I'm not insane, it's just almost easy sometimes, ya know?" not really no… "Plus, you have no room to call ME insane. YOU'RE the one who slept with a virgin! Seriously man, you're screwed; a girl like her will never let you live that down!"

"How… do you know about that…?" I'm sure my face was beat red as my eyes expanded.

"Who doesn't know about it? Once Asuka found out it all went downhill from there," I can't believe she told everyone! Isn't anything sacred to her?! "Ah, here we go!" we finally reach the front of the line. There was a large, fat man behind the counter with a big smile on his face and a nametag that read 'John' on his shirt.

"Here ya go kids! Don't go starting a food fight now!" well isn't he quick with a 'joke'? "Hey, listen," he leans over the glass and whispers in my direction, "You're Ikari, ain't ya? Could you put in a good word to your father for me? I'm trying to get enough money to get out of this place. I know that I could become a star, ya know?"

"Yeah… sure…" awkwardly, I walk away, not knowing exactly what just happened. Toji already grabbed a semi-empty table. Two other girls were sitting down, and he smirked at me as he continued his conversation with them.

"Like I was saying, I'm one of the main guys around this place. Ya know that giant robot thing that saved the world a few times? Yeah, that's all me and my man Shinji here," God, he's so damn smug. The girls were obviously annoyed with him and I began to sense a slap coming.

"So this is the great Shinji Ikari, huh?" one of the shorter girls with short brown hair stood up and look at me up and down, "Not bad. I hear about you all the time, but I've never actually seen a pilot before," walking up closer to me, she puts on a small smirk and perks out her torso slightly, just before grabbing a fry off my plate and turning around, sitting next to her friends and patting the seat next to her while looking up at me. Does this ever end? Seriously, I really do hate this! With a sigh, I take the seat with Toji across the table.

"Come on ladies, I'm a pilot too!"

"You also have a girlfriend," mumbling over the glass of water, I basically rat him out as a fry hits my forehead.

"Now that's triflin'!" one of the other girls throws a glass of water in his face and stands up, "Come on, we're out of here. Like we need some douche bag hitting on us," the other two girls stand up.

"I'll catch up with you two later, okay? I want to get to know Shinji here a little better."

"Mana, you're hopeless," they walk away, leaving their friend behind.

"Mana, huh?" Toji leans across the table with his typical grin on, though dripping wet. She puts up her hand to his face, blocking his view as she looks at me… I try to act as if I didn't notice as I eat my lunch.

"Not interested. So, Shinji, you seeing anyone?"

"Oh come on! He doesn't even WANT to date right now! This is friggen ridiculous!" with a sigh, she turns to face him.

"Tell you what, be a good little boy and get me something to eat. If you do, I'll put in a good word for one to my friends, got it?" without a moment of hesitation, he gets up, leaving his food behind, and heads towards the long line, "So, tell me about yourself Shinji," could this girl be a little more forward?

"Sorry, but I really don't feel comfortable with this, I just got out of a relationship, and-"

"Oh come on, live a little! Okay, how about I start then, hm? My name's Mana Kirishima, I've grown up here, and I'm fourteen. See, was that so hard?"

"That sounded like something out of an AA meeting…" she laughs slightly as she nudges me, "Fine, but I doubt that there's much you don't already know. Let's see… I moved to Tokyo-3 when I was fourteen, and I started piloting soon after. We – by that I mean me and the other pilots – moved here after the old NERV was shut down. Happy?" I know that I was a little rude, but I just really hate it when girls act this way.

"Actually, yes. Tell you what," she pulls out a piece of paper from her pocket and jots down a few numbers on it, "Me and a few friends are having a party at my house later on tonight. Why don't you drop by? I'm not saying that you have to stay, but I would like to see you show up – you can even bring a few friends if you want."

"I… don't really think-"

"Don't decide right now, just wait, okay?" I nod slightly and extremely awkwardly, "Good. Now Shinji, listen, you need to lighten up. You're just too high-strung, you know? Have some fun already! Life isn't always as serious as you make it out to be," I guess she is right to some extent. I've been moping around here ever since I found out about Rei, and I'm starting to think that I'm going back to how I used to be… of course, what is there for me? Asuka has her new baby – Adal or something like that – Rei, though she's gone back to the old days, obviously loves working here, and Toji… well, is Toji. Maybe Mana is onto something here; Rei is obviously out of my life, so why can't I be like the typical sixteen year old? "Hellloooo?" Mana pokes my forehead with her slim index finger, "Do you do that often? Spacing out like that?"

"Mind if I bring Toji?" holding the piece of paper with my middle and index fingers in the air, I send a small smile her way.

--

Streets of Sapporo – 5:00 PM

"So, you're fourteen, right? How did you manage to get into my grade level?" with Toji trailing slightly behind due to his broken leg, Mana and I get to know each other better.

"I just study a lot, you know? I think education is extremely important," now, even though I don't know her that well, her personality doesn't show that! "Yeah, I'm lying, I cheated on my entrance exam," I couldn't help but laugh at her tone of voice as she said that, "Oh yeah! You're sixteen, aren't you?" I simply nod, "So then tell me; are you okay with younger girls?" putting that look on, she smiles up at me.

"Age… really does mean nothing," I stopped trying to get her to stop flirting with me awhile ago, because honestly, I can see myself giving it a chance later on.

"Could you two walk just a little faster?! My other leg isn't broken yet!" we turn around and chuckle at his stance. While his leg was broken, he was able to have this caste-like brace on that allowed him to walk, just very slowly. As he reached us, he slapped me on the back of the head, "Dilweed!"

"So… what's the story with him? I've never seen him as a pilot before, only you, Rei, and Asuka."

"He's the latest pilot, and you haven't heard much because he was an angle himself for awhile. He really hasn't piloted enough to get any attention," I could literally see steam coming out of his ears.

"Oh yeah Ikari? I'll take you on any day of the week! Last time I checked, my sync ratio was higher than yours!"

"And his ego is about the size of this city, so being on the news would just fuel that. Speaking of, what exactly have you heard?"

"Well, this one news station has this ten minute break completely dedicated to either rumors, pictures, or actual news about you guys. I tend not to believe the rumors, because some of them are just way too out there! One of them said that Asuka – she's the red head right? – had a baby, but how could she pilot while pregnant? Yeah, a lot of it is BS, but it's still fun to watch," … who are these people?! "Oh! Listen, I gotta get going, I have to go get ready for the party. You're coming, right?"

"Yeah, Toji too. I'll see you there," with a wave, she ran off down some side street.

"So, ya gonna go for it?"

"Go for what?" with a smirk, he motions to where Mana ran off, "Oh… maybe, I don't know. She's kind of immature, but I don't really see any major reason why not."

"Dude, she's freaking smokin! I can't even believe that she's fourteen!" we turn around and head back to NERV, "If I were you, I'd at least give it a chance. Plus, looks like you're over the albino, aren't you?" I glare over at him as my fists clench, "Oh, sorry, still in the depression stage. Give it some time, you';; get all angry soon enough."

"Toji, you don't understand what we had. We've been through so much shit that I can't even begin to list it off, and I don't care what anyone says, we BOTH need someone to lean on," he rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"Okay Shakespeare, cool down, sorry, but you're the one who's scoping out other girls," I'm only doing that because I know that there's no chance with Rei anymore! Why should I stay single? I brush off what he said as we continue to walk. The majority of the trip was in silence until we reached the two main doors of NERV, "So yeah, I'll see you in an hour, meet me here," I didn't bother to respond as he waddled away.

Walking with my typical stance, I head towards my room to get dressed. Along the way – which was a good ten minutes – I had more than enough time to think. By the end, I was certain that I had to get over Rei, and Mana was my way out. Subconsciously, I've already decided that I was going to try dating her, but the major question would be when? Of course, at this point, it's much too early, but when would it be acceptable? I guess I'll just wing it…

"Shinji Ikari, haven't seen you around here much today," just as I reach my door, Kaji calls to me from about Asuka's room, "Now just where have you been, hm?" with his typical 'cool guy' persona, he walks towards me and shakes my hand.

"Out… I'm about to head to a party with a couple of friends."

"Really now? Good for you, you could use some R and R," since I moved here, Kaji has been like a father figure to me… maybe…

"Hey, Kaji?" he raises his eyebrows with a small 'hm?', "You know the whole issue with Rei, right?" with a small smirk, he nods his head, "Well, I met this other girl today, and Toji said that I should try it with her – of course, after I get to know her better. At first, he had me considering it to make Rei jealous of her, but by now I'm just plain considering it. I'm afraid that when Rei sees it that she'll become even MORE depressed, so then I really shouldn't date this girl, but on the other hand-" while laughing, he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Shinji, you really do think too much. Listen, just give it some time, okay? You'll find out what to do with time."

"Not… exactly the advice I was hoping for…"

"Okay then, you want some real advice? You're absolutely horrible at relationships, and you're completely oblivious when it comes to girls flirting with you. On top of that, just about every girl at your old school that knew you wanted to date you, so there's just about zero moves you could do without making a wrong decision."

"How do you know all this?" what is he, a stalker?

"I'm a spy, it's my job to know, but enough of that. Listen, just play your cards right, and everything will fall into place, got it? Now, you better get going, because by the pace that you were walking, the party is obviously soon," was I really walking fast? Before I could say so much as thanks, Kaji disappears into Asuka's room. Trying to shove the thoughts of negative consequences out of my head, I begin to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I set out a long sleeved, button up shirt to wear over the t-shirt. I always enjoyed that look; it makes it casual enough to go anywhere, but in the event that I have to dress up, all I have to do is tuck in the shirt and button it up. Getting dressed only killed about five minutes, and I had to meet Toji in forty-five minutes, so, against better judgment, I go to Asuka's room and knock on the door. Of course, she answers – for some reason Toji was gone – with an annoyed look on her face.

"What do _you_ want? You're not welcome in here," God, why does she always have to act like that?

"Well, I was going to ask if you needed anything from the store, because I'm going out tonight, but-"

"Oh shut up Third! What's the real reason you came?" just as the last word left her mouth, her baby began crying, "Great, see what you do? Listen, if you actually need something, go to Rei's room or something, okay?" slamming the door in my face – quite literally, it hit me in the damn nose – she blocked my view once again. By her bring up Rei, she reminded me of the promise I made earlier about meeting her tonight… I'm sure it won't take more than a few minutes… I go a few halls down an reach her door… but I found myself with my hand frozen in front of the door, just about to knock. I'm just starting to get over her, so why should I do this? She's probably in there, sitting on her bed just waiting for me to knock – she's playing me like a fool! You know what? I don't need this! Storming away, I hear her door open as I begin to round the corner.

"Shinji?" without so much as an acknowledgement, I leave her standing there, looking like the idiot she's made me out to be.

--

Streets of Sapporo – 6:15 PM

We left NERV at six just as we planned, and were currently heading towards the address Mana gave me earlier. The tension between Toji and I had disappeared, so we were back to talking like normal. He claims that he will, as he put it, 'Nab a girl by the end of the night'… yeah, good luck with that. We were nearing the house, at least according to the directions I got online, when I heard someone call to me from behind. Turning, I see Mana running towards us with a huge smile on her face.

"I can't believe you were actually serious!" she was panting heavily, still smiling, "I'm really glad you came."

"Daaaaaammmnnn…" knowing exactly what Toji was drooling over, I smack the back of his head, "I-I mean, yeah, of course we came," Mana was, to say the least, dressed to kill. She was in extremely tight, sun bleached jeans that showed off her curves, and a shirt that did the exact same thing. The shirt was really nothing either expensive or high-end, but it certainly did its job; it had a fairly low v-cut collar, but there was a tank top or something below it to cover some up. The shirt was a perfect match with her eyes, which, even I have to admit, made her look pretty damn good.

"Are… you sure you're fourteen?" I couldn't help but ask, which made her laugh through the panting.

"Come on, we're running late," the directions were obviously wrong, because the house we were looking for was literally fifty feet away, and Mana, being the ball of energy she is, knocked on the door first. One of the girls from earlier in the lunch room answered, and rolled her eyes as soon as she saw Toji.

"Did you have to bring HIM?" the house was darkened with fairly loud music playing in the background. The house was absolutely packed with people, which is saying a lot by looking at the size of it, "Fine come on in, have fun," with an extremely annoyed tone, she disappeared into the crowd.

"Ignore her, she just has a permanent bug up her ass. So, Toji, like I promised, I have a girl I want you to meet," his eyes lit up as she said that, "She loves guys like you. I'll be right back, make yourselves at home," she, like her friend, disappeared into the crowd, leaving us behind. Giving me a moment to look around, I saw that this was an extremely typical teenage party; a few couples were on the sofa making out, close to zero dancing was happening, and the main floor was being used to either mingle or grab food off of the table. Soon enough, Mana comes back out of the crowd with an extremely smug looking girl next to her, "Toji, this is Yui," Yui was an obvious metal head, and looked nothing like Toji's type… of course, this IS Toji we're talking about. Within two minutes, they too disappeared into the crowd, leaving me and Mana 'alone', "Here, let's go into the back yard, there's a grill going on out there."

"Alright, but I'm actually not that hungry."

"Doesn't matter, I want you to meet a few people," making my stomach sink, she grabs my hand and leads me through the crowd… I didn't try to pull away.

"Who?"

"Well, there's this one guy that won't say his name, but he's so cool! He says that he knows Asuka, so you might already know him. I think he's the one that's grilling actually," upon reaching the back yard, my eyes are immediately drawn to a guy about my age with absolutely silver hair using the grill to cook up some food, all the while putting on a show. He was like one of those chiefs you see on television that cook on the wide flat grills, only with food that people actually want to eat! Of course, I've never met him, but apparently he knows Asuka… which is odd, seeing as she's barely left her room since we got here, "He's such a showoff! I guess we can talk to him later."

"Hey Mana! Who's the new guy?" an older guy – about eighteen – who looks quite a bit like Mana walks up with a beer in his hand.

"Oh, this is Shinji. Shinji, this is my brother, Jun," letting go of Mana, I shake his hand and smile.

"Wow, pretty polite, huh? Nice to meet you Shinji. Listen, I can't really stick around, I have to head out to work. Mana, I left my new cell number in your room, if you need anything, just call. Later," leaving Mana with a pat on the back, he walks towards the door.

Throughout the party, I barely saw Toji, but it really couldn't matter less to me. I met a few new people, all which I highly doubt that I'll be seeing again, but I did spend the entire time with Mana. With every passing hour, I can see myself dating her more and more; still though, it's just too early. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to have any true fun outside of a few half-hour bursts because Rei wouldn't stop calling me. Of course, I never picked up, and in the end I decided to just turn off my phone. As mad as I was at her, being the way I am, I just couldn't stop either worrying about her or thinking about what we used to have. By twelve at night, I decided to head back without Toji, because he refused to leave just yet. Mana followed me outside to say goodbye, and like the most of the night, she wouldn't let go of my hand.

"I have to admit, I'm glad I came. Thanks for inviting me," her face was slightly red as she smiled.

"Thanks for coming… I guess I'll catch you later, okay?"

"Yeah, you have my phone number, so you can ju-" before I could finish, she leaned up and pecked me on the lips, smiling up at me afterwards.

"I will," with a small wave, she walks back into the house.

"… wow…"

--

Halls of NERV – 12:30 AM

Upon turning on my phone, I see that Rei called me just a few minutes ago, and since I was much less angered than before, I decided to go talk to her and see what she wanted – as much as I didn't want to, mind you. I knock on her door, not really expecting an answer, and for once in my life I was right.

"Rei, it's Shinji," I whisper through the door, but there was still no answer. With some personal debate in my head, I decide to just walk in; either she's not in there or just fell asleep, so what's the worst that could happen? I slowly open the door to reveal a moonlit, dark room with her laying down – face down with her face buried in the pillow – on the bed across the room, "Rei, listen, sorry about today."

"Do you have any idea why I wanted to talk to you?" to my surprise, her voice was no longer monotone, but that of a few months ago.

"Uh… no…" her face was still buried, so her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I hate you…" she sits up to show tears running down her face… but that's all. No distinct facial features of someone who has been crying, just a steady stream of tears, that's it, "I hate you so much…"

"Rei, what are you talking about?" I don't care how mad I was at her, that seriously hurt…

"I'm talking about you!" she leaps up out of her bed to show her in a long t-shirt, "I needed someone to talk to, but God forbid you help someone that isn't putting out!" she storms towards me and glares at me, "I needed you tonight…" her bottom lip began to quiver as she spoke, "I needed you tonight, and you couldn't even do that for me!"

"Rei, I'm s-"

"NO!" her hand makes contact with my face, sending a piercing sound through the room, "Don't you dare apologize! You promised me that you would come tonight! Why didn't you come?" I simply stood there, my face throbbing, silent, "Tell me!" she was screaming at the top of her lungs at this point… I've never seen her this upset before…

"I was thinking about you after you asked me to see you, and I got angry… I didn't want to talk to you like that…"

"You were angry? YOU were angry?! Do you have any idea what I go through every fucking day? I had to live with those monsters for months, and you can't help me through that because of your little fit?!" okay, that's enough, I'm not going to put up with this.

"Rei, you're not the only one with problems!" she went wide eyed at my sudden outburst, "I realize that you were in hell for those six months, but frankly, get over it! So you had to deal with them hitting you every now and then, big deal! I went through the exact same thing before I moved to Tokyo, and you know what? I dealt with it on my own time! YOU talk about me using people, but I'm only convenient to you when you have to lean on someone! But guess what Ayanami, I'm done helping you. So you can take you little problems, your depressed persona, and your damned 'boo-hoo' attitude and shove them!" I saw her clenching both her teeth and fists and prepare myself to be hit. Instead, she turned around, went into the top drawer of her dresser and pulled out a black composition book, handing it to me with shaking hands.

"Get out of my room," shoving my chest, she pushed me out of the doorway and closed the door with a small slam.

"Enjoy being alone," I mumble under my breath as I begin to hear her crying in her room, the book still in my hands. I have no idea what compelled me to hold onto it, but I did take it back to my room, and by some miracle I didn't throw it away. Instead, I set it on the nightstand and fall back onto the bed, staring at the circle of light the lamp was producing on the ceiling, "Who the hell does she think she is hitting me like that? I put my life on the line multiple times for her, and she still treats me like shit! Now she expects me to read some journal so I can feel bad for her? Bull shit!" with a swipe of my hand, I push the book into the trash bin next to the night stand, "Go fuck yourself Ayanami," I roll over and eventually fade to sleep, once and for all forgetting about the book she gave me.

_-- Ayanami's Journal --_

_**First Day:**__ I finally arrived at the airport after almost fifteen hours. I had to excuse myself from my seat a few times during the flight to try and call you, but I never got a signal through my phone, and I couldn't risk calling you on the plane's phone… not in front of them at least. Already their insults have begun, mocking how I hold myself, wear my hair, the usual. I really don't care though, I'll just be counting down the days until I get to see you again. I promise, there's nothing that they can do to break me._

_**Third Day:**__ Sweet Jesus are these people moronic. I can't even hold an intelligent conversation with them let alone be around them. Unfortunately, they took away my phone, so I won't be calling you anytime soon… sorry. I'll try sending out a letter tomorrow though, so keep an eye out for it, okay?_

_**Fourth Day:**__ I'm in class right now, and we're currently working over something that I learned years ago. I haven't really bothered to speak to anyone , because my parents put me in this horrid school in the middle of a gang-infested neighborhood. I'm a little scared of the people around here, but I promised to stay strong for you, so I am. I have to go though, we're getting into groups for a project. I'll try to call you later on tonight if I get a chance._

_I'm so sorry… I tried calling you, but they caught me, and now I'm locked in here. It's smells horrid, but they won't let me out… please wait for me…_

_**Fifth Day:**__ It's five in the afternoon right now, and they kept me home from school to do some housework which only lasted a little over an hour… not like I'm missing anything. Today was actually bearable though, oddly enough. They were gone most of the day, so I was able to watch some television for the first time since I got here. I saw you on the news on some documentary about the Angels, and I just couldn't stop smiling. Have I ever told you how cute you look on video? :)_

_It's a quarter past three in the morning, and my father just got done yelling at me for something I didn't even do. He was drunk, so I'm sure he'll forget about it by morning. I've never been called a bitch before…_

_**Tenth Day:**__ I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile, but I got in trouble for no reason again and they took all of my things… I hope they didn't read this… I tried sending out a letter today, but upon my arrival at the mailbox, I realized that it needed a key. Looks like you won't be receiving it any time soon. The last few days have been typical as things can get around here; my father __going on his drunken rants, school being a waste of time, and the occasional verbal abuse… the 2x3 picture of us together is the only thing that makes me smile anymore._

_**Eleventh Day:**__ I can't stop Shinji… I'm so sorry, but I just can't stop… he didn't even hurt me that badly, but I just can't take this anymore… does he realize how hard he punches? Maybe I did deserve it…_

_**Twelfth Day: **__Today was great! I actually made a friend at school! Her name is Ami, and oddly enough, she came from Tokyo-3 too! Even better, I asked if I could spend the night at her house tonight, and my parents said yes! Sure, they said 'anything to get you out of the house', but I don't care! Things may start to turn around for me Shinji :D_

_**Thirteenth Day: **__I'm still at Ami's house (she says hi), and I just asked for some time to write in here. Just touching base with you, hope to talk to you soon. I love you :)_

_**Fifteenth Day:**__ I think this is just my week! When I came home yesterday, I found a note telling me that they were going to be gone for a week or two, so that's great news! Unfortunately, they took the phone with them just to be cruel, so I won't be able to call you, sorry. Ami said that I could come over some time and use her computer to IM you, so hopefully you'll be around it. _

_**Sixteenth Day:**__ Nothing new to report, just writing down to let you know I'm okay… but I still miss you. I've been watching the Discovery Channel all day, and frankly, it's getting a little boring… did you know that there was an actual white whale?_

_**Twentieth Day: **__I'm sorry that I haven't written in awhile… but I'm just so ashamed of myself… my father came home early, saying something about getting fired again, but my mother wasn't home… still isn't. The night he came home… I'm sorry, I can't do this._

_**Thirtieth Day: **__It started with just a kiss… it turned into him feeling me… now it's down to this… I hate myself so much…_

_**Thirty-First Day: **__It's two in the morning, and he just stopped… it hurts so bad Shinji… make him stop… MAKE HIM STOP!_

_He came back in half an hour ago and did it again… I'm so sorry Shinji, please forgive me…_

_**Thirty-Fourth Day: **__I'm outside right now because I was talking back, and they won't let me back in. It's so cold out here… I want to walk to Ami's house, but I can't walk the streets dressed like this… I guess I'll just stay near the house to stay warm. At least it's better than being in there, right? … right?_

_**Thirty-Fifth Day: **__When they finally let me in today, I was only met by his hand. He made my lip bleed this time, and I'm afraid it's going to scar. You would still love me with it though, right? The days just keep on counting down Shinji…_

_**Fiftieth (?) Day: **__I'm so sorry that I haven't written for awhile, but I've just been too discusted with myself to talk to you… this started as a journal to let you know how I was while I was away, but I'm not going to give this to you now, I just can't face you like that… so I guess this is just for me then. I've lost track of the days, and I don't have time right now to look it up. _

_The good news is that I found a way to relieve at least some stress while here. People tell me that it's bad for me, but Ami's the one that convinced me to do it… it makes me feel good. You'll still love me with these scars, right? Please say yes…_

_**Fifty-First Day:**__ Turns out I guessed right last time. The good news is that he hasn't come into my room for a little over a week now, so maybe he'll stop all toge_

_**Fifty-Second Day**__: He hit me again last night… he stormed into my room and started hitting me for no reason… I probably deserved it though. I deserve all of this… I'm so dirty…_

_**Sixty-Seventh Day: **__I've been writing you every day, but I had to tear out the other pages… even I couldn't face them anymore. Things have been looking up though. He hasn't so much as spoken to me in the last few days, and I haven't had to use my razor in awhile either. As horrid as I've become, I still want to marry you Shinji, so please, PLEASE wait for me. I don't deserve you, I know that, but just wait, okay?_

_**Sixty-Eighth Day: **__I spent the night at Ami's house again last night, and I did something I regret… it meant nothing, okay? I just needed someone, and she was there for me, that's all. I still want you, no matter what happens. God, I can't believe what I've become…_

_**Seventieth Day: **__WHORE_

_**Seventy-Third Day:**__ I've had enough with this… I just really can't take any more Shinji. I'm so sorry for what I'm doing… they broke me… I can't stand to look at myself in the mirror anymore, and I feel dirty all the time, I have to stop this. I love you Shinji, just don't forget that._

_**Eightieth Day:**__ The one time that they actually take care of me I didn't want it. I'm in some cheap hospital right now, and my mind just won't stop racing, regardless of the sleeping medicine they gave me. I felt as if I've lost everything at this point, so when I go 'home' tonight, I'm going to ask if you can come spend some time here. I've never needed you so badly Shinji… you really have no idea._

_**Eighty-First Day:**__ Am I really as stupid as they tell me I am? Why would someone lie about that? I suppose I was stupid to hope for happiness right now…_

_**Eighty-Second Day:**__ Our picture is getting a little torn up from me carrying it around all the time, so I taped it in the back of the book today. I won't be able to see it whenever I want anymore, but at least they haven't found it yet. Can we take another picture when I get back?_

_**Eighty-Third Day:**__ I've actually been able to write most of this week – at least that's something. At school today, I was talking to Ami and told her what my father's been doing… she won't speak to me anymore. My place isn't with you, it's in a brothel…_

_**Eighty-Fourth Day**__: I read a book today. I didn't even go to school; I just read. As much as I hate it, I'm happy right now. _

_**Eighty-Sixth Day:**__ I read another book yesterday – my own. I spent the entire day reading and re-reading these pages, and I've come to realize that I'm even letting myself down. These entries have been slowly getting smaller and smaller. I'll try to write more, but only for you, okay?_

_**Eighty-Seventh Day:**__ My parents are yelling in their room right now… I hope he doesn't come in here. But Shinji, you know what? I think I finally learned something today. I learned that I need to defend myself… so if he comes back in here, I'm not going to let him do that to me again. I'd rather die than feel him again._

_I hope everything's been going good with you, I really do. When I get back, you have to tell me what kind of hell you've been through with Asuka without me to break you two up :) Tell Asuka I miss her too._

_**Ninetieth Day:**__ I'm one month shy of being one-third of the way done Shinji! I know it doesn't sound like much, but every day counts. I had a dream the other night, for the first time in I don't even know how long. I dreamt that we were still on the island… but we actually wanted to be there. We were at least in our thirties, but we just looked so happy! Do you think we'll be together for that long? Do you think we'll be together again if you find out what I've become?_

_**Ninety-First Day:**__ I must admit, today was not exactly bad. I woke up at about four in the morning so I could get all of my chores done, and afterwards I watched television for most of the day; my parents were too hung-over to care. I really do miss actually learning things back with you; the only thing that I've learned since I've gotten here is how to stay quiet. _

_**Ninety-Third Day:**__ He came to me again last night… he told me that he loved me during it… is it bad that what he said actually means something to me? Is it bad that I'm growing used to this? I didn't fight him like I promised…_

_**Ninety-Fourth Day:**__ He came to me again last night, but like I promised you, I fought him… he didn't touch me like that, but he did hit me. I'm outside again, but unlike last time, I'm not cold. I don't feel anymore… not after what he's done to me._

_It's been three hours since I last wrote, and I'm definitely cold now. I tried using a tarp a found in-between the two houses, but even that had holes in it. Why doesn't anyone care that I'm out here? Am I really that horrid of a person that I deserve to live on the streets? Maybe I do deserve this._

_**One-Hundredth Day: **__Sorry I haven't written you in awhile, but this time it was actually for something positive. I haven't had any news to report… simple as that. Nothing good, and __thankfully nothing bad. This last week I've just been living with dolls; they seem to wander from room to room aimlessly. As if I care what they do with themselves. I fear that I won't be able to write you much anymore, I'm beginning to run on the last few pages of this book, and I highly doubt that I will be able to get another one. I'll just write only when I have to, that should last me a little while._

_**One-Hundred-Tenth Day:**__ As promised, I'm only writing when I have to. He hasn't touched me since I last came back into the house, which of course is good news. That's all I wanted to say._

_**One-Hundred-Twentieth Day**__: Okay, writing in here whenever I have to isn't going to work, because I always feel like I must, so instead I'm going to force myself to write in ten-day intervals. There's only eight pages left in here, so if I'm lucky it'll last a few more months. For the first time since I moved here, I ate a decent meal. It was a full serving of chicken parmesan with a slice of garlic bread. You have no idea what it meant to me to be able to eat like that again… turns out you really were a good cook._

_**One-Hundred-Thirtieth Day:**__ Has it only been this long? It feels as if I've been here for years, and here I am looking at a calendar that tells me it's barely been one hundred days… regardless, I'm going to wait for you. I have some great news though; a few days ago, he came into my room, but my mother caught him. She wasn't mad that he's been doing this with his daughter, she was just mad that he was sleeping with another woman. He's currently at a friend's house, because she won't let him back in. Sweet irony, no? At least I won't have to deal with him anymore._

_**One-Hundred-Fortieth Day:**__ Now that it's only me and her, I summed up the courage to ask if you could come over. It started with a maybe, which made me cry I was so happy. A few hours later, she said yes, which only made me cry more. Now, five hours ago, she said no, and I just can't stop. What a cruel joke…_

_**One-Hundred-Fiftieth Day:**__ I've had time to think lately now that I don't have to look over my shoulder. When I do come back, I don't think that I'm going to marry you, let alone be with you. I love you, don't get me wrong, but it seems as though I'd only be holding you back. I don't want that kind of a life for you; you can find a much better girl. _

_**One-Hundred-Sixtieth Day:**__ He came back today, and I can't even walk around without him giving me a horrid look. It's night, and he's knocking on my door again… I know that he's not going to touch me like that, but I also know he won't keep his hands off of me. His knocking has turned into banging… where is my mother? Doesn't she dislike him when he's like this? He's angry… I don't wan_

_**One-Hundred-Seventieth Day:**__ I have nothing to say right now, it just hurts too much to write._

_**One-Hundred-Eightieth Day:**__ I'm half way done with this hell… I can't stop crying, I'm just so happy… but at the same time, I'm afraid. I'm afraid because I know that this book can't hold much more, and I don't know what I'm going to do without it. I'm just going to leave off here._

_**One-Hundred-Ninetieth Day: **__I've never been so happy in my life! I'M HAPPY! I never have to deal with those two again! On top of that, I'll be seeing YOU soon! God Shinji, you have no idea how much I need you right now… but it's okay! We'll see each other soon enough :)_

_**Two-Hundredth Day:**__ I'm on the plane right now Shinji! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!_

A/N – It's four in the morning, and I'm just about to head out to school, so check out the next chapter, Believe; until then, keep on keepin' on!


	22. Believe

Chapter 22: Believe

A/N – Okay, half of this chapter will be in Shinji's POV (the first half), and the other will be in Asuka's.

A/A/N – Wow… well, I'm back… more or less. To be honest, I planned on just kind of forgetting about the whole FF thing for no particular reason. However, a reader sent me an email and convinced me to start up again. Not too sure how all of this is going to play out, but I'll tell you this much… I'm so lost in my own story. I only vaguely remember what happened in this fic, so if there are plot holes as I write, please tell me. Here goes nothing…

Shinji's Room – 6:30 AM

By ritual, I was woken up by something going on in the hallway… hell, even if there was nothing out there, I'd still wake up. School has engraved it's time into my brain, never really letting me rest. I dreamt about what I said to Rei last night… what's wrong with me? I don't know what went on with her, and I have no right to treat her like that. On the other hand, she was disrespecting me just as much, so there's always that. Standing up, I pick her journal out of the trash bin and swipe off the dust that has already gathered on it.

"What could it hurt to read?" taking a seat in the arm chair across the room, I begin to realize just how much she used this book. All the pages were wavy, as if they were wet at one point and were dried off. All of the corners have turned into ripped messes of dust and not a single inch of the cover wasn't drawn on. Immediately after opening the book, a small piece of paper falls out of the back and lands face up on the floor. There, staring up at me upside down, was a picture of the two of us; in it, she kissed me on the cheek at the last moment when I pressed the button… it made my heart sink. As rugged as the picture looked, I put it back into the book with memories of that day.

Within the first ten minutes of reading her journal, and just the fact that she acted as if she was speaking straight to me, I felt like a complete asshole… hell, more than that, there's just no explanation for what I did last night. I had absolutely no idea that she went through all of that, let alone get punished time after time just trying to reach me. A few things in there I didn't understand, and frankly, I didn't want to. Admittingly, I cried quite a bit while reading – I even had to set the book down at one point. By the end, I was out of the room so fast the door closed before the book even hit the floor, the last words of "I love you so much!" engraved into the paper still on my mind. Running like a child from an unseen being, I reach her door and don't even bother to knock, I just barge in. I see her still sleeping on the bed, dried tears still staining her pale face.

"Rei…" my intentions weren't to wake her up, but that's apparently exactly what I did. Her bloodshot eyes slowly opened, and upon seeing me, she rolled over.

"Get out," I simply stood there, still panting from the running, "I said-"

"I don't care what you said," I made my way to her side and sat down, placing my hand on her head. She shivers at the contact, but I fail to flinch, "I read what you wrote… I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry… God, I can't even say what I want to… Rei, you were right, I was being selfish… please just say something."

"What did you think was going to happen?"

"What?" she sits up in bed and meets me eye to eye.

"Did you expect to come in here, give that half-assed speech, and expect me to leap into your arms? Were you honestly expecting an outcome like that? This isn't some romance novel!" here we go again… "I don't care if you read the damn journal or not, you still have no idea what I went through! You don't know what it's like to be under the blankets crying all night, scared to death that your own father is going to come in and rape you! The ONLY way I made it through that hell was by finding some kind of stress reliever, and you know what I turned to?" I simply shake my head. She throws the covers off from her and pulls up her long t-shirt to her upper thigh, showing horizontal scars tracing her skin, "This was the only fucking way to STOP the pain!" with my eyes wide open, I completely freeze up, "You still have nothing to say?"

"What… do you want me to say…?" her eyes light up with fire.

"I want you to say that everything is going to be alright! I want you to say that you'll always be there for me!" she takes a short pause, "But you can't… you can't say anything, because you only live for yourself," she gets up and walks towards the bathroom, "Just leave, you've said everything you needed to," without another word, she closes the door behind her and turns on the shower. I don't care what she says, I'm not leaving until this is resolved! I stand up and take a seat on her arm chair, planning to simply wait for all of this to unfold. Hell if I knew what I was going to say, and I don't really want to form it in my head… it seems as though every time I do that things turn out for the worst. She was in there for at least half an hour before the water came to a squeaking halt. My heart began to race, anticipating what was about to happen. A few more minutes pass, and she emerges from the tomb of steam to show her in a white robe with the NERV logo on the right side of her chest.

"You're still in here?" her voice was filled with annoyance as she continued to dry her hair with a towel, "What? Make it quick, I have to get ready."

"You… still love me, don't you?" rolling her eyes, she lets out a small chuckle.

"I never denied that, but see, your problem is that you refuse to accept that maybe you're not the only one with problems. Did you ever bother to think about why exactly I went back to being quiet?" of course I did, but nothing I could say right now would change her feelings, "I did that because I didn't want to get close to either you or Asuka until all of this was over, because it would only be pointless. If one of you die, and I have no emotional attachment, then there's really nothing that can happen, now is there?"

"That's bull and you know it. Come up with a better excuse."

"It's not an excuse."

"Then what is it?" I'm standing at this point, just a few feet from her.

"It is what it is. Are we done here?"

"No, so stop asking. So, you DO still love me, you just don't want to get close to anyone, right? Yet here you are, talking to me like a perfectly normal human being, getting upset over everything I say. Sounds like you're pretty damn close to me."

"You really don't get it, do you? I'm not going to let a relationship get in the way of the angles or whatever the hell is attacking," without a word, I walk up to her and put both of my hands on her shoulders, "Don't touch me," she wasn't harsh with her words, just strong. She tried to push me away, but even to my surprise she was unable, "Did you hear what I just said?" she took a breath to speak again, but the moment our eyes met, it was all over. I have absolutely zero expressions on my face, but she was completely entranced by my eyes.

"Are you really going to stand there and tell me that all of our plans are out the window because of something we've grown up with?" a few more seconds of silence pass before I gently take her into a hug, feeling just how stiff her body was. Once again, she attempted to push me away, but after only three or so seconds, she went completely limp and buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"I hate you…"

"I know."

---

A/N – Asuka's POV time

Asuka's Room – Same Time

I swear, those freaks were really getting on my nerves the other night. How did they expect that to play out, honestly? I may be gullible at times, but that's just pushing it! Yeah, as if someone can really overthrow a God – it's ridiculous! And what exactly did they mean by saying I'll find out on my own? I don't like these games they're playing!

Currently, I was changing Adalia's diaper with Kaji holding his nose across the room. I don't know what's come over him lately, but he almost never leaves my room outside of when I sleep. I don't know whether he's doing this for one of his odd reasons that he keeps to himself, or if he actually wants to help me through it. Either way, he's been an enormous help, even when it comes to watching her while I take a shower or something. On the note of him keeping secrets, I decided that I wasn't going to tell him about the whole 'gods' incident a couple of days ago. By the very slim chance that there actually is something important there, I'd rather not have him barging in on it.

Before they left, 'Apollo' gave me his cell phone number. He said that next time I needed to talk to someone or needed some answers to call him… I plan on doing that tonight after Kaji leaves. Out of all the people there, he seemed to be the only one to actually care about what I was going through, so he'll be the first that I talk to, if at all. I aim to find out the reason they were so set on making me believe some ridiculous story; was it really that elaborate of a joke?

"Kaji?" he perks his head up as I peek over my shoulder, "Is there a reason you've been staying with me?" might as well ask, right?

"Well of course, I can't just leave you alone with a baby, now can I?"

"I could take care of her just fine alone, you know. Are you here to help me or for something involving her?" picking up a softly kicking Adalia, I take my place in the large armchair that's become commonplace for me.

"I never said that you couldn't take care of her, I just want to help. And no, I'm not here for her in the least; if that was the case, you'd know it by now," he was obviously offended by my comment, "Do you not want me around? I do have better places to be," images of Misato flashed through my mind.

"Don't be like that Kaji, I was just asking," a few minutes pass in complete silence before he speaks up again.

"So… I'm taking Misato out tonight," he stands up and begins to walk out of the room, "So I won't really be around much today. Call me if you need anything," without giving me a chance to say anything, he closes the door.

"Someone's cranky," subconsciously, I hope he didn't hear my sarcastic remark. But really, I can't ask a question? Not like he wouldn't stick around for the baby if he had to, I just wanted to know if it was really for me! "Well, he said that he'd be gone for most of the day…" adopting a 'why not' attitude, I set Adalia in her crib and pick up my cell phone, dialing the number he scribbles down on a piece of paper barely a single ring passed before he picked up.

"Ah, Aphrodite, nice to hear from you so soon. Shall I meet you in your abode?"

"Yeah, if it's oka-" before I even finished the sentence, there was a knocking at the door, "Sorry, hold on," opening the door revealed Apollo himself – of course holding the saxophone – and letting himself in with a graceful smile, "Well wasn't that a fancy trick? What, were you waiting down the hall this whole time?"

"No, I was home. So, what do you need?"

"Real answers," he simply shakes his head and laughs under his breath, "What's so funny about that? I think I'm entitled to them!"

"As you are, but see, we've already told you. Aphrodite, we-"

"My name is Asuka, not Aphrodite, alright?"

"I apologize – Asuka, we attempted to tell you everything earlier, but you just weren't having it. Judging by your current attitude towards the situation, I doubt there is much I'm able to say to convince you. But, as stated earlier, you will fall in love soon enough, and it'll all become clear to you."

"You haven't really done your research, have you?" he simply raises an eyebrow, "Well, if you actually took the time to look into my history, I've never really loved anyone. My mother left me when I was young, and since then I've been either living with an uncaring family or around people that don't even have half a brain cell. Now, who do you propose I fall in love with?"

"Well, it seems as if any relationships – such as Zeus and Hera – still hold strong even after rebirth. Chances are that you will end up with Ares," that military brat wannabe?! Like hell!

"Yeah… not gonna happen. I'm not into the whole army thing – that and I think he's kind of a prick."

"Well, it's either him or Hephaestus, and I highly doubt you'll fall in love with him. Trust me Aph… Asuka, the time will come eventually," at least he's being straight forward with me, "You still don't believe a word I say, do you?"

"Hell no," scratching his head through his long blonde hair, Apollo takes a seat where Kaji was earlier.

"Something else seems to be troubling you. Do you want to talk about it?" what is he, a psychiatrist now? "Does it have to do with that man that recently left?" rolling my eyes, I take a seat in the opposite chair.

"No, that's just Kaji. He's all upset now because I asked if he was helping me or just keeping an eye on Adalia," now that I'm not in the heat of the situation, maybe what I said wasn't exactly polite…

"So, you care for his opinion?"

"Well of course, he's one of the only people around here that I can talk to," Apollo raises an eyebrow, "No, I don't love him, so don't even ask," this forced a grin out of the musician, "I'm just really close to him, you know? That and he's double my age, that would just be sick."

"Love knows no age… but perhaps you should let him be. Maybe he feels the need to help a single mother through something this stressful – he is a man after all. Speaking of, and I'm not talking about love now, who is that other boy that lives near here? He seems to be quite important to you."

"Who, Shinji? Yeah right! He's a spineless idiot that couldn't stand up on his own if he had lead legs! I couldn't care less about the guy!"

"Such strong opinions for someone you claim to hate," what exactly is he trying to get at here…? "You're so upset about it you're turning red… or perhaps that's a blush?"

"Just… shut up!" I get up and rush to the bathroom for no real reason. Who the hell is he to tell me who I like and hate? He doesn't know what I've been through! Honestly, just because he claims to be a god – sorry, ex-god – doesn't mean he has the right to mess with people's heads like that! Almost immediately after leaving the room, Adalia began to cry, "Damn it…" before I even opened the door, the soft sound an instrument being played filled the room, an her crying instantly stopped. Upon opening the door, I see Apollo hovering over her crib, playing towards the infant with a small smile on his face, regardless of the fact that he was blowing into the sax, "Well aren't you special? You can make a baby stop crying with some music and a shiny stick."

"This 'shiny stick' is called a soprano saxophone, and I don't appreciate you mocking my music," does this guy ever lose his temper? "Regardless, I must be leaving now. Zeus has summoned me," without as much as a good-bye, he leaves the room. Honestly, every time I speak to one of them I get more questions than I do answers. The bad part is that they've got a really minute portion of me actually believing all of this crap… must have something to do with the whole postpartum thing, because not even Toji is that stupid.

"Asuka?" Misato's voice rings through the room as she knocks on the door. Snapping me out of though, I open the door to see her in casual clothes holding a brown paper bag, "Who was that boy?" she had her typical mocking look on, ready to jump on any piece of meat I handed her, "Come on, spill it, I want to hear all about him!" she shoves the bag into my stomach, forcing me to grab onto it, and takes her seat where Kaji had been.

"It's not what you think, so don't get all excited… what's this?"

"Oh, just some breakfast, but come on! A guy like THAT doesn't just pop in for a visit with a girl like you!" what does she mean 'girl like me'?

"Thanks, but once again, he's just a friend – no, I wouldn't even say that. He's an acquaintance that just happens to be around," sighing and rolling her eyes, Misato falls back onto the chair.

"I miss the old NERV… not enough drama here…"

---

Shinji's POV – This'll be the last change

Rei's Room – Same Time

"So wait, why did you break up with me again? I still don't get it," after just a tad more arguing, we both finally calmed down. I was currently sitting on the armchair while she was getting dressed in the bathroom.

"Look, you read the journal, right? I didn't WANT to be with anyone, so just made up that half assed story about being gay… which I still can't believe you took as an answer by the way," from what I've learned about women, you don't question why they do anything when it comes to romance. I kept silent, not knowing exactly what to say, and by the time almost an entire minute passes she spoke up again, "I'm… sorry for what happened when I was away…"

"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes I did Shinji, don't pretend like you didn't read it, I'm not in the mood. The whole thing with Ami… I don't even know what I was doing, it just felt like the right thing to do at the time, you know? I needed someone, and I sure as hell wasn't getting any support from anyone else… but that's no excuse. You waited for me the entire time, and I couldn't even make it three months," as if I care what she did when she was away. After what she went through, I wouldn't care if she got pregnant along the way, as long as she made it through there.

"Rei? Make me a promise, okay?" only silence, "Let's promise to just never talk about it again, got it? Nothing good came out of it, so why even bother bringing it up?" she walks out of the bathroom dressed in her old wardrobe; tight, faded jeans with an equally tight black tank top. Her hair was still slightly wet, giving her appeal that I haven't seen in quite awhile.

"Problems don't go away by ignoring them," she once again opens her dresser and searches around it for a few moments, "You have to work through them to truly get over it," she pulls out a small, digital camera and powers it to life, "I've been taught that by your father my entire life," she takes a seat next to me, regardless of the space available, holding the camera in the air down towards us, "But, I promise," simultaneously, she pressed the button on the camera and pecked my cheek.

"Um… okay then…" still dumbfounded, she leaves the chair and sets the camera back down onto the dresser, "What just happened here?"

"What? I wanted another picture, and that's what I got."

"No, I know that, but… are we…?" with her back still to me, fiddling with the camera, she shrugs.

"I dunno, I still haven't decided," she turned around and faced me, slowly walking towards me, "You told me to shove it, you were out with another girl – and yes, I saw, you insulted me, and on top of all of it, you were the biggest ass on the face of the planet," she stopped right in front of me with her hands on her gently curving hips, "So, what can you do to convince me otherwise?" standing up, I place my hands on top of hers and smile, "Getting close…" without a moment of hesitation, I go in to kiss her, and she does anything but deny me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she furthers the embrace.

Honestly, what the HELL just happened?! We were fighting like dogs last night, ready to tear out each other's hearts, and now here we are like the old days! It hasn't even been ten hours damn it! Not like I'm complaining, but really, girls are just too damn complicated… I'm beginning to see why some guys go gay…

"Okay then, yes," she smiles up at me, our faces still almost touching, "But I think you got off too easy. You're lucky I'm such a nice person Shinji Ikari. Now get dressed, you're taking me out for breakfast, I haven't so much as left this place since we got here," I actually may know of something better…

"We can grab something to eat at the cafeteria, I have a better idea if you just want to get out," I walk out of the room, and oddly enough, she follows me.

"Okay, you're the boss. I'll be in Asuka's room, so when you're done go in there," yeah, that's exactly what I want to see, a devil just waking up. With a soft sigh to myself, I turn the corner and enter my room as I hear Rei open Asuka's door, "You'll never believe what just happened!" great… I try to get dressed as quickly as possible before Rei says too much.

A/N – Okay, well, that was quite as bad as I thought. However, I'm still getting back into the swing of these characters, so give me some time. I have a plan on where the story is heading, and unlike all the other fics I've written, this one does have an end in plan. So, that being said, check out the next chapter, Crescendo; until then, keep on keepin' on!


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